Change starts with You
by winerp
Summary: 3 years after the events of the movie, Nick Wilde feels like he's finally free from his past life. A new threat, however, forces him to once again subject himself to undeserved hatred and scorn. Only this time he won't be alone, as a brave bunny stands with him and against whatever may come. [With elements from Person of Interest. Includes WildeHopps.]
1. Ch1 - A matter of trust

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

For Notes regarding this work and myself, refer to the bottom of this Chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – A matter of trust**

Two years. Two years of work at the ZPD (three if he counted the time at the Academy) and getting a summons for a meeting with the Chief still felt like going to the Principal's office after a prank gone wrong… Not that such feelings weren't at least somewhat justified: this was Chief Bogo we're talking about: not only was he a towering one ton cape buffalo with a gaze that many thought could melt steel, he was also the head of Zootopia's Precinct 1. This effectively made him second in command as far as the ZPD went, only answering to Commissioner Quinn and the Mayor's Office.

And yet, this imposing tower of authority was someone Nicholas Wilde would gladly consider a close ally and even a friend. Not at first, but in said two years a mutual respect and admiration had seeped into the relationship between the two mammals.

Still, the fact that the first fox officer of the ZPD was being summoned alone, without his partner to rely on, did leave him feeling somewhat uneasy… or was it curious? Nope, definitely uneasy. Especially considering the "incident" with the coffee maker the previous week.

He was removed from his thoughts at the site of the door to the Chief's Office. Adjusting his slightly slack tie he rapped on the door and announced himself. "It's Officer Wilde sir."

"Come in."

Taking a deeper breath than he'd ever admit he pushed open the door and let himself into the office. It never ceased to amaze him how the mountains of paperwork that went through the Chief's hooves went from the seemingly unorganized stacks strewn about his desk to the neatly filed and ordered cases and folders in the closets and cabinets around them. When Nick first joined the Force he thought his own paperwork was bad. He hadn't seen anything… Just another reason why he didn't really look forward to climbing too high up the ZPD's ranks.

"I knew you loved me Chief, but summoning me alone just like this is going to get people talking… What will your wife think?" the tod mused, his signature smirk adorning his face, hiding the apprehension he was actually feeling.

"Not in the mood Wilde." Bogo's face was stern, not his usual uninterested expression, he meant it. Nick had always been good at reading people, and given that his first impressions of the buffalo weren't the best he had been extra careful learning his tells and ticks. And in this case he could tell there would be no messing about.

The Chief motioned towards one of the chairs opposite from his own, which the reynard got into, albeit not without some struggle… As with most of the rest of Precinct 1 said chairs were meant to accommodate much larger animals than a fox. Judy could at least hop onto them, while he had to do some less than graceful climbing.

Steeling himself for the chewing out he thought was coming the younger officer coughed awkwardly. "If this is about last week's coffee debacle I…" he was cut off by a loud sigh followed by an even louder _smack_ as the Chief brought his hoof up to his face and started so massage his forehead.

"I should have known you had a paw in that… but that's not what this is about, and I need you to get serious Wilde."

Well that was unexpected.

"How much do you trust me?"

That even more so.

"Sir?…" was all the fox could get out before the buffalo cut him off again.

"You have been working under my command for the last two years. I know what you thought of me when you started, and given the way I treated Hopps and later you during the Nighthowler case I can't say I hold it against you."

"To be truthful, I didn't expect much of you even after you helped our bunny cop. But, as she did before you, you proved my expectations – or lack of them in your case – wrong."

It was true, he didn't hold Bogo in any higher regard than him being his boss for the first couple of months at the ZPD, and why should he? First time he met him, he, a Chief of Police of all people, dismissed any testimony he had based on his species and belittled an officer in front of him, a civilian, and half a dozen of their co-workers, all the while breaking a promise with said officer. Second time he met him he sent the same officer, with less than a week on the job and no prior training on public speaking to address an excited/bloodthirsty mob of reporters. Not exactly the best of first impressions…

And yet he had eventually found out that while yes, Bogo's no-nonsense view on the world combined with a lack of patience could make him misjudge both animals and situations alike, he had the most hardened sense of morality and duty he had ever seen on anyone other than Judy, coupled with a deep care for those under his command. It should be pointed out that he only found this to be true because said bunny convinced him to give the gruff Chief a second chance, even though she was the one he saw being mistreated those years ago. If _she_ trusted him, the tod should at least give him a chance he reasoned.

"I'll never admit this to anyone outside of this office, but I do like you Wilde. Your antics can be exasperating but your records together with your partner's show both a good cop and a good mammal. And, to be honest, things were pretty boring around the station before you showed up…" The Chief let out a weak chuckle before his grave expression returned and he continued.

"So I'll ask again. How much do you trust me Of… No. How much do you trust me, Nick."

Any remains of the daze that Nick was in were pushed away by the Chief addressing him in such a familial tone. So he brought out 'serious Nick' and answered truthfully.

"After everything I've seen since joining the Force, all the crap you have to put up with from both below and above your paygrade Chief… I pretty much trust you as much as I trust Ju… Officer Hopps: completely."

A small sigh, this time somewhat relieved in tone, escaped the buffalo's maw as he continued. "Thank you… Nick. Now as for having you come alone, while what I have to say concerns your partner as well, I know what her reaction would be and we can't have that." A single eyebrow found it's way up Nick's forehead. "Regardless of your decision on this matter, what I'm about to share with you must not leave the confines of this office. You may, and should, discuss it with your partner later, but in private, and I'll brief you both myself more completely should you both decide to go with it."

Okay, this was NOT how Nick envisioned his day going. It had gone from an expected berating session, to a feel filled discussion with the Chief of all people, and he was now going into secrets! But, he had rarely seen him _show_ that he cared about anyone or anything this much, and whenever that happened things were guaranteed to be serious. As such the tod limited himself to a nod and gave the buffalo his full attention.

"How much do you know about organized crime in this city Wilde?"

Oh boy…

"Well, I'm aware that the major Districts have some sort of Boss that controls most of the illegal activities in the area. I'm only really familiar with two operations though: Mama's here in Savannah Central, since we pretty much deal with her handiwork every other week, and Mr Big's in Tundratown because of… well, my past…"

That last part was not easy to admit. Regardless of his new self and the two years now spent proudly serving with the ZPD, Nick would never be able to fully escape his past and the mistakes and compromises that it had entailed. Bogo was actually one of the few people other than Judy who knew exactly what had happened to him after high school.

His superior nodded. "Indeed. There are at least 3 more that we know of operating within the city limits: Buck Ramses in the Meadowlands, Alphonse Clawpone in the Rainforest District and Terry Humpson in Sahara Square. The Nocturnal district has a few smaller outfits, but they're more interested in gutting each other than making a profit out of the city."

"Now, all five main crime lords' operations are completely distinct and they rarely ever work together themselves. To summarize, Mamma's a drug baroness, Mr. Big's a smuggler, Ramses deals in counterfeit goods, Clawpone owns the liquor and nightlife businesses and Humpson has money laundering casinos."

With an unamused snort Bogo continued. "Though I guess I should actually say they _used to_ rarely work together." That was definitely news for Nick. Last time he spoke to Mr. Big in amiable terms (and before his pardon courtesy of a certain bunny's actions) half the conversation had been about how the other Boss' businesses hampered his own and how he wanted to see them hang by their guts. And he had seen first-hand how Mama treated any rival enforcers that strayed into her 'turf'.

"Since the last election, following Lionheart's fall…" Wait, was that sorrow in the Chief's tone? "Something happened that made the Syndicates start cooperating. Not only that but we started having much more trouble disrupting their activities. You probably didn't really notice a change, since it happened when you were here for only a couple of months."

Honestly, Nick had just put the trouble the ZPD was having as a result of increased precautions by the mob following the Bellwether case. The Police had been on high alert for any form of organized crime to try and shut down the entirety of the former Assistant Mayor's operation.

"In the past, if we caught one of their guys, there'd always be trouble getting a conviction. They could always afford good lawyers and they would sometimes attempt to mess with the judge. Now though, it seems we can't even get the scumbags indicted!"

The sudden change of the Chief's demeanour from frustrated to enraged caught Nick by surprise, making him sink deeper into his already oversized chair.

"Something always happens: either a vital piece of evidence goes missing or never gets to the station in the first place, a witness gets cold feet even when under police protection, the prosecutor opts for awkward deals… always something!"

The buffalo huffed, exasperated, and got up from his desk, turning around now facing the wall with the ZPD's coat of arms and pictures of it's Officers.

He closed his eyes, sighed and continued, now with a disheartened tone to his voice.

"A lot of people call me cynical, or pessimist. They say I always expect the worst, in both people and situations alike. I hear we're a bit similar in that regard."

Nick could only let out a brief chuckle, as his boss' attitude was still weighing heavily on him. The tod was starting to see what the Chief was getting at, and it wasn't good. Not. One. Bit.

"But I'm not stupid. And as much as it pains me to say this, the only way this can keep methodically happening is them having help from the inside."

There it was.

"Now, corruption on the Force is something my predecessors, sadly, also had to deal with, though, as far as I'm aware, never quite like this."

Nick's eyes suddenly lost some of their shine. As the Chief had said, he was kind of cynical, but even so, he had still had hope that he'd finally found one part of the City's 'machine' that was still clean and whose workers still gladly upheld their own values… Apparently not even the ZPD was above greed…

"What do you mean Chief?"

"It's inevitable that over time the odd officer might get tempted by a sweet sounding deal, usually coupled with some frustration or sense of debt. That would result in random setbacks to completely unrelated cases, all dependant on whom the officer struck a deal with. Also, since it would be a spur of the moment type of thing, half of them would get caught with their pants down during or after the fact."

"But that's not what's been happening, is it sir…"

"No." Bogo turned back to face the fox and continued, putting his hooves one the desk and leaning forward. "The only affected investigations for the last year and a half have been the ones from Internal Affairs and Organized Crime."

The tod gulped as he too was starting to connect all the dots.

"We must conclude that a new syndicate has emerged, only this one did so inside our own Home…" The buffalo's brow began to scrunch as he was visibly disgusted by the idea. "They almost certainly have the backing of someone inside City Hall, since they would need it to influence the prosecutors, and also the timing of this whole thing is a bit too convenient."

This was getting more serious by the second. Nick was not expecting or prepared for this, but he had to admit it all sounded logical. There was one thing that was bugging him though.

"Okay look, Chief. Everything you said makes sense, but it's still speculation. And while I do trust you, and you evidently trust me, I don't think you'd call me like this if you didn't have something more solid you'd want to discuss. We're talking about distrusting our co-workers, the people who are supposed to have our backs."

The buffalo looked up at the fox from his desk. The younger officer was clearly unsettled by the proposition, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, he could even catch a glimpse of grit teeth. If he hadn't known Nick better, he'd probably call him out on a very convincing show of concern. Only he did know better.

"I don't like this any more than you Wilde. And you're right, I do have more."

"Do you remember that dingo we brought in the other day for illegal drug possession?"

With an eyebrow raised Nick replied. "Yeah… wasn't he one of Mama's runners?"

"Correct. After Wolford brought him in he came to me saying he'd heard the dingo mumbling something about someone 'breaking their deal' and how 'there weren't supposed to be cops at the mall then', and concluding with 'god damn MR'."

This time both of the fox's eyebrows went up. "Wow, so he was expecting our patrol routes?"

"Bingo. Wolford and Fangmeyer were on patrol nearby and got called because some kids thought it'd be funny to see if they could sneak clothes out of the mall…"

Seriously? Couldn't they just sell watered down lemonade or something? Not that he was any example to follow with his forged baseball cards but still…

"…Anyway, he was interrogated and booked normally. But the next day I asked Higgins to go interrogate him about this 'MR'. After that the perp _conveniently_ fell down a flight of stairs on the way back down to booking and ended up in the hospital, in a coma. I should also mention that, _conveniently_ again, the cameras were malfunctioning on the interrogation room at the time, so we don't know what went on in there."

Nick's brow began to scrunch as his shoulders slouched: this whole thing smelled worse than Tundratwon's Fish Market. But he still didn't know what he had to do with any of it, the Chief still wouldn't have called him just to vent. He didn't get a chance to bring it up though, as the buffalo continued.

"I brought this up to the Commissioner – in private obviously – and his instructions were for me to keep this under wraps, saying the last thing we needed right now was another PR debacle for City Hall, this time with the ZPD in tow."

"When I protested saying that we couldn't just let this keep going he simply said that even if we were to do something, if this syndicate is as well established as it seems we'd never get anything on them. He then told me to focus on cases I can actually close."

Nick's mouth had gone from slightly open to fully agape in awe, together with his eyes.

"I left that meeting fuming." Bogo concluded with a grunt. With that he sat back down and looked expectantly at the younger officer, waiting for him to process the fact that the leader of the entire ZPD had, in a way, brushed off a potential ring of corrupt cops and city officials.

"So that's it? You're just going to leave it at that Chief?" The fox was still a bit incredulous, but hoped his boss had something good to add, a silver lining of sorts.

He did have something. But Nick was NOT going to like it.

"Of course not! Even though we can't launch a full investigation on all Precincts without the Commissioner's backing I'm still Chief of Precinct 1, and as far as my Precinct goes I will NOT be tolerating corrupt cops tainting our image."

"We're going to need to find out more about how this 'MR' operates, and the best way to do that will be to try and get someone into their ranks while undercover. They would hopefully be able to provide enough information to hamper their dealings and to bring down at least their local hierarchy. With a bit of luck we might even learn who's really behind this."

Nick had to agree that would be pretty much the only way to get reliable information, as MR had already proven it wasn't a stranger to covering its tracks. It would however be a ridiculously dangerous assignment for the poor sap that the Chief chose.

"That's where you'd come in Wilde."

Wait, what.

…

"WHAT."

The buffalo sighed and looked away from the fox who was now standing on his chair, fur on end and tail straight as an arrow. "You already have the experience from your time with Mr. Big, and out of all the admittedly few cops I fully trust now, you're the one who'd look the least suspicious going rogue, given…"

"… given my past right Chief?" the fox completed, shoulders now slumped, paws hanging aimlessly, ears laid back against his skull and tail wrapped around his legs, as if hugging himself.

"I'm sorry Nick, I know escaping your past was one of the main reasons you became a cop in the first place, and now I'm asking you to embrace it. But you really are my best shot at this."

"Should you decide to do it, you'd still be working with Hopps, as you'll need someone on the Force to trust other than me and she'd be investigating any leads you might provide."

Unable to look straight at his superior Nick sighed and answered. "I'll… think about it Chief. Mind if I give you a final answer in the next few days?"

"Not at all Wilde. I'm asking a lot of you, take your time."

"In fact, take the rest of the day off. And take Hopps with you, talk with her about this, I know she helps you see things more clearly sometimes."

"Thanks Chief."

"Dismissed."

Without another word, the fox stepped down from his chair and padded straight for the door, opening and closing it gently. He then proceeded towards the exit, mindlessly waving back as Clawhauser greeted him.

Once outside, Nick took a deep breath and started massaging his temples.

"Why… why now… everything was going so…"

Sighing heavily he took out his phone and stared at the wallpaper: a selfie with Judy, both in their uniforms in front of the Precinct. Bogo was right, he needed to talk to her.

Searching for her number he hit the call button.

He pushed the device away from his ear to minimize the damage from her ensuing complaint barrage and spoke once she was done.

"Hey Carrots? We need to talk."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hello and welcome to my first published fanfiction. Please be gentle D:**

 **Just kidding, I have no idea how well this will do, so any and all reviews/PMs are welcome and I'll answer them to the best of my abilities.**

 **As for how this fic is going to work in terms of updates and stuff, I'll most likely post once a week after this. I think regular uploads are more important than fast and unpredictable ones so I'll try to guarantee one chapter per week, and anything else will be a bonus :) They'll most likely come out on Saturdays.**

 **The story will stay rated T for now, and I doubt it will change much, but if it does I'll give a heads up in the previous chapter.**

 **The story will probably be littered with pop culture references, usually to other movies or TV shows, so feel free to point them out.**

 **As far as OCs go, save for a couple of them with more developed backstories, they'll be mostly fillers, to make my vision of the story make sense and be more interesting. One or two characters won't be OCs per se but rather unused or rehashed characters from older versions of the movie.**

 **The ZPD I envision here works like this (it's important to establish how their ranks work for later in the story):**

 **\- -** **there are different departments that deal with specific crimes, and officers are assigned to their departments after 5 years on the force and according to their service record until then.**

 **\- - there are ranks (like cadet, officer, sergeant, lieutenant…) but no special assignments like detectives or traffic cops. That is entirely dependent on the case/assignment their superior hands them.**

 **Now, before I give a call out to my inspirations, I need to make something clear: this is NOT a comedy. There will be banter and there will be funny moments or witty humour, just like in the movie. But the tone will more often than not stay serious and going will get heavy at points. The WildeHopps ship is a part of the story but not its main focus. Given the update schedule I'll try to implement I will try to keep cliff-hangers to a minimum, but I can't promise there won't be some.**

 **With that out of the way, time for a very important part of these Notes: Shoutout time!**

 **As I said, this is my first published fic and there are a bunch of authors and works that both inspired and helped me create my own story. I'm going to list the main sources of inspiration and help, though some more specific contributions may be reserved for later when they no longer count as spoilers. Regardless of the way I say they helped, their stories are absolute gems and deserve your attention.**

 **Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps**

 **For giving me the confidence to actually go through with this and actually reviewing the original concept for the story. Also, the antics Zootopia's dynamic duo get into in his fics are too good.**

 **ReverendArchangel and Upplet**

 **For showing me how an author should behave regarding fans and critics alike and for discussing and (somewhat inadvertedly) helping me create the personas I wanted to imbue some of my characters with. Also, both of their stories (Prejudice Dies Hard and Instinct Falls, respectively) helped me set the tone I wanted for this fic.**

 **Icka M Chif (from AO3)**

 **Her/His take on how Nick would view the Chief was just too on point to ignore.**

 **See you next week!**


	2. Ch2 - Hearts and minds Pt1

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

For Notes regarding this work and myself, refer to the bottom of this Chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Hearts and Minds Pt 1**

Routines tend to become a part of everyone's lives – if not their whole lives – and they tend to help in keeping them orderly and safe, if a bit predictable. Judy Hopps was no stranger to them, in fact, having grown in a farm with two hundred and seventy five siblings, they were pretty much mandatory for a somewhat comfortable everyday life: in order to make sure everyone was fed and had their chores assigned, school day or not, they needed set times for everything, from waking up to the meals and even showers (you try storing enough hot water for 250 plus dirty tired mammals…). As such she found that growing up and even after leaving BunnyBurrow for the wild and unpredictable city of Zootopia she found comfort and reassurance in a well-planned schedule. If nothing else, having everything happen when and how it should usually meant nothing potentially bad had happened. So she kept a pretty tight life, with set wake up, jogging, arriving and leaving ZPD and getting back home hours.

And then the wild part of Zootopia decided to make itself known. Or rather, the Wilde of Zootopia to be more precise…

Disregarding the couple of days during which she and Nick went about their rough introduction to each other, chasing leads and threads throughout the city during the Nighthowler Case, she managed to maintain her schedule… Until he came back from the Academy and started up as her partner.

While her morning routine remained unchanged – as Nick also needed the regularity to keep himself in check as far as his newfound responsibilities went – the fox's laid back and carefree attitude started to erode Judy's resolve to stick to a set timetable during the afternoons and especially after work. It didn't help that for some godforsaken reason she enjoyed his snarky ass' company more than anyone else's – except for her parents' of course. They'd ended up moulding their timetables to the case they had at the time, and would often crash at each other's place after a late night brainstorming and discussing leads or after a late night watching a movie or simply enjoying each other's company.

It really made no sense to anyone who didn't know them that well. She was the epitome of the expression "by the book", he was as relaxed as they came and more often than not preferred the "bend the book" approach (he never looked the other way about anything but having grown in the streets of the city, he knew that there was a lot of situations where giving a fine or pulling an arrest would only make things worse). She was a country girl, he was city born and bred.

She was a rabbit. He was a fox.

And they were the tightest and most effective partners in their Precinct.

…

But sometimes, just like any other partners, they couldn't stand the other.

This time, Nicholas Wilde had (due to reasons outside his control, although that didn't even register in the peeved bunny's mind) ruined her morning routine.

At the morning's roll call he had been given instructions to report to Records since – according to Bogo – his assistance was required to review an old case. Naturally Judy asked if she was to assist her partner in assisting the mammals down in Records. After the Chief clarified that only Wilde's presence was required she questioned what she was supposed to do while partner-less. To which the Chief responded, with his typical uninterested posture, "Parking duty." As if it was the most natural thing in the world!

So now, here she was, put-put-putting around in the Jokemobile, giving out tickets and seething at her partner. She had kept her phone on her at Nick's request: 'maybe I'll be done quickly and I'll be able to join you, so I'll need to know where to find you' he said. And maybe she'd get him stuck in a traffic jam just because…

To be fair she didn't even expect him to call her before lunch, so it was with quite a bit of surprise – and anger, definitely anger – that she got a call from him a mere fifteen minutes after she left the Precinct.

Inhaling deeply, she stopped the Jokemobile got out her phone and answered.

"Nicholas Piberious Wilde…" she started quietly "I am NOT A HAPPY BUNNY."

"YOU BETTER HAVE A VERY GOOD EXCUSE FOR WHY I GOT STUCK WITH PARKING DUTY WHILE YOU WENT TO REVIEW A CASE."

And suddenly she wasn't angry anymore.

"Hey Carrots? We need to talk."

Her nose twitched.

No snarky comment? No sarcastic comeback? A somewhat uneasy feeling to his voice? Something wasn't right.

"Nick?... Is something wrong?"

"That would depend on your definition of 'wrong'. I just got out of a meeting with the Chief and -" He never got to finish the sentence.

"Please tell me we're not in trouble… again…" Judy said, a grimace starting to form on her face.

"Easy Fluff, not yet. Look, we may be assigned a new case soon, BUT…" She was going to start cheering, but her partner's tone silenced her. "BUT, we need to talk about it first. This one is a lot more delicate than usual."

That could mean a lot of things, but it was clear Nick didn't want to discuss them over the phone. His less-than-usual-serious self didn't leave her feeling too comfortable, but hey! They were getting a new case!

"The Chief has given us both the day off, think you could swing by my place? After you return the Jokemobile of course…" Okay. Given that she could practically _hear_ the smirk through his voice, Nick wasn't quite as off as it first had seemed.

"Sure, I'll be there in forty five minutes or so." She still had to return the little tricycle and report the few parking tickets she had actually issued during her short patrol.

"Great. See you then."

 _Click_.

Judy was now looking at her phone with a blank expression, but wide eyes: she didn't know what to think. Whatever case Bogo had talked with Nick about, it had clearly upset him and left him somewhat at a loss – probably why he wanted to talk with her other than them being partners. But since he was still cracking the occasional joke by the end of the phone call he couldn't be entirely dumbfounded.

 _Guess I better go see what this is all about…_ She thought while turning the Jokemobile around and heading back to the Precinct.

"Great. See you then."

 _Click_.

#

That went… better than he expected.

While he had his suspicions about why the Chief had given Judy parking duty even though he was going to give her the day off anyway, Nick fully expected the bunny to go berserk as soon as they met up. So he was pleasantly surprised with how quickly she dropped the 'rabid rabbit' act during the phone call.

It was also a pleasant surprise to realize that just that little bout of conversation with Judy had already improved his mood. At least enough for his usual punny self to come out and protect his more sensitive inside.

It never ceased to amaze him how well they understood each other. She had only needed six words from him to realize something was up and he wasn't doing that well.

Over the time they had spent working together at the ZPD, he had come to realize how their odd pairing ended up being mutually beneficial, not to mention how it benefited the city, given their effectiveness together as cops. While they were in many ways polar opposites they were not closed minded mammals (or at least they had come to become so after their 'shock and awe' type introduction). That meant that they were constantly learning from one another: even after the Academy Nick had learned from Judy numerous minute details about laws and regulations that proved useful in their line of work; he had the knowledge and street-smarts only a rough upbringing in the city could bring and which helped them to better predict and influence incidents they encountered. And to top it all off they both had a profound admiration for each other. The bunny who beat all odds and expectations to achieve her dreams and the fox who endured all the prejudice and hate of society without letting it destroy who he really was. She had shown him that prejudices could be overcome and that there was some good to be found in most people, while he had been the first mammal to fully support and cheer her on, while crushing her own stereotypes in the process.

This together with the fact that it had been said bunny to give him a chance and get him out of the gutter made Nick all the more appreciative of their friendship and partnership.

In fact he always made a point to remind himself of how difficult it had actually been to get partnered up with her in the first place.

While he had a clean record – safe for the occasional misdemeanour, usually brought about by an irate _customer_ – and there was no proof of the only real crime he had committed (he had in fact erased the carrot pen recording), he felt like he had to come fully clean to truly begin a new chapter in his life.

To that end, after the NightHowler case was wrapped up, he had arranged a meeting with Chief Bogo, where he had, off the record, admitted to his tax evasion and explained exactly what he had been doing after High School and before meeting Judy. He had also explained he just wanted a chance to prove both to others and himself that not only was he a new mammal, but that prejudice could only get you so far and everyone could be more than met the eye.

Bogo was, naturally, reluctant to oblige, but Judy's vow of confidence had earned him a chance to prove himself. A deal was arranged with the IZRS (the Internal Zootopian Revenue Service) where if Nick paid all his fiscal debt and a delay surcharge and had Bogo vouch for him after a one year probationary period at the ZPD no charges would be filled and his record would remain clean. Thankfully, Nick had kept most of his hustling money and was able to pay the debt. As for the year of work at the ZPD he made sure to look at it as a normal working year: his goal was to help and protect the public and, in doing so, show his new self anyway.

Of course he still had to endure Bogo's less-than-cordial-bordering-on-hostile treatment for a few months, but he had eventually earned the buffalo's trust, with a little unexpected help from some less than friendly mammals who thought it wise to hold ZPD officers hostage… Though that was something he'd rather not have to live again.

After that it was his turn to come to admire their Chief and his work. He knew how the hierarchy was in the city's government and what that meant for a mammal in Bogo's position: he wasn't high up enough to call most shots, but wasn't low enough to escape the political games of City Hall. And for a mammal to endure that ordeal and STILL run the tightest Precinct in Zootopia, meant he had to be pretty special. And Bogo was indeed something…

Suddenly Nick was removed from his reminiscing by his nose, which started to pick up known comforting scents. Sure enough, he found himself just around the corner from his apartment complex.

Pushing open the door, he thought to himself _Guess I better get something ready for Judy… This is gonna be one hell of a talk…_

Showing his true colours was never easy, but if there was one mammal he'd do it for, that would be Judy.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Turns out fig fire water is great to get stuff out of your head and onto paper. Huh, who'd have thought…**

 **Anyway… again sorry for the delay. Crappy internet was crappy. But here we go! Second chapter is up.**

 **Definitely a slower more thought driven chapter… don't worry, next one will be** _ **the**_ **talk and after that we get the MR case rolling :D**

 **Btw, anyone wanna say what MR stands for? Maybe where I got it from?**

 **Also, two things to look out for:**

 **Shiny chapter titles! Whoo!**

 **The first chapter got some tweaks to ensure better story cohesion (small stuff).**

 **As before, all reviews and PMs are highly welcome so that I know what I should improve or just change.**

 **As promised, see you in a few days :D**

 **Cheers!**


	3. Ch3 - Hearts and minds Pt2

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

For Notes regarding this work and myself, refer to the bottom of this Chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Hearts and Minds Pt 2**

Regardless of how many times she went to Nick's place – which was a lot by now – seeing the dull beige coloured building that blended in perfectly with the dozens of others of the same type on the outskirts of Savannah Central always brought a smile to Judy's face and, sometimes, a warm fuzzy feeling to her core (though that one she couldn't exactly explain…).

After the Nighthowler case, she had found out that Nick actually lived pretty much exactly where she found him when she came racing back to Zootopia. While he didn't _sleep_ under the bridge, that's where he'd usually spend most of his non-hustling time. There and in the old warehouse just beyond – where he'd fashioned himself a decent enough bedroom in one of the old offices.

Turns out he had actually come to own the place while working as a fixer for Mr Big. He'd found out one the crime Boss' car suppliers had been tampering with the vehicles he sold, making them appear in top shape when in reality they'd just break down after a couple hundred miles. Simple stuff like filling the gearboxes with a thick oil and sawdust mix to make them feel smooth or rigging the temperature gauges to hide overheating engines. As you'd expect from a mobster who deals in contraband and depends on getaway vehicles, Mr. Big was less than pleased. The boar in question got a complimentary _chilling_ bath, and the fox got his warehouse as a thanks.

Still, it was miles away from both the city centre and therefore the ZPD and there were no public transports anywhere close either. Back then, he either got picked up by Finnick and his van or used one of Mr Big's cars to conduct business in his name.

Of course when Nick decided to join the ZPD he realized he'd either have to get up at five in the morning or earlier to go catch a bus or he would have to find a new place to stay. No real decision there…

Of course finding an apartment for the tod was easier said than done. You know, fox stigma and all. But since she had also decided to move – she liked to be able to _breathe_ in her apartment and she could only take _so much_ of Bucky and Pronk – she would go place-casing with him, and with Judy by his side their new found fame helped sway _most_ landlords into not shutting the door in their muzzles.

There was also the fact that Nick wanted to change pretty much every aspect of his life to cut off any ties with his old self, and where and how he lived was naturally a big part of that. Pretty much the one thing he didn't manage to leave behind was his connection with Mr Big, which was at least in good terms thanks to her.

Other than seeing Nick succeed however, Judy's smile as she neared that completely unremarkable building also came from what it meant for her specifically: she'd helped someone turn their life around and gained a friend, a best friend even, in the process. Not only had she accomplished precisely what she came to Zootopia to do in the first place, she'd finally found someone who didn't give her sideways glances because of her dreams and personality.

Still, getting called to meet up with Nick because he need to talk about something the Chief told him while he sounded very queasy about it did cut her smile shorter than usual.

Ringing the buzzer up to Nick's apartment, the intercom soon crackled to life.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Nick, it's me."

"Oh Carrots, come right up, door's unlocked."

At that a metallic _Clink_ signalled that the building door had just unlocked and she pushed herself into the building.

It was a lot like Pangolin Arms, though more spacious on the inside and with less grease stains on the walls. Right in front of the front door was the super's apartment, and next to it were the stairs to the rest of the floors.

Going up to the first floor she did indeed find the door she was looking for unlocked. Still, her manners commanded her to at least knock before letting herself in.

"Come on in" she heard Nick call out from inside.

At that she stepped into the actual apartment. It was by no means luxurious or big, but it had a main living area with a kitchenette, a bed room that was in on of itself bigger than Judy's old place, and something that they both cherished and had been the deciding factor when it came to which apartment to pick: a private bathroom. It felt so much better knowing that you were the one to use and manage such a private place.

As far as the decoration and _stuffing_ of the apartment went, Nick had had a few things he wanted to preserve, most of which were pictures: a few with his mother and one with his father, a couple with Finnick and the rest were from his time in the Force, including the graduation ceremony, Judy being a part of most of them. There was one photo she'd never seen before though… It was just a simple clothes shop, nothing really special about it save for the name: 'Suitopia'. She'd have to ask Nick about it…

Other than that there was an old vinyl record player and a modernish TV he had brought from the warehouse and a big chest-like trunk with the rest of his belongings that weren't clothes or everyday items. Furniture was already included when he came into the apartment. Just the essentials though. A couch, a couple of cupboards, a small table and a few chairs and the bed and bedroom closet.

As Judy went into the apartment she found Nick by the kitchenette counter pouring what looked like tea into two cups.

"Thought I'd brew us a cup of tea." Nick said turning around. He had his face set and neutral with just a hint of his usual smirk. "Green for you, wild berries for me and please spare me the pun."

She just rolled her eyes as he offered one of the steaming cups.

He motioned towards the couch, in which both sat on opposite ends. They'd usually be much more laid back and casual around each other but whether they admitted it or not they were both uneasy: Nick had a lot on his mind and was still reeling a bit from the Chief's talk and Judy knew something was bothering him.

"So if the Chief has a new case for _us_ , me _and_ you, why'd he get you alone with him and give me a fake assignment… one which I happen to despise?" Given Nick didn't seem too keen on getting the talk going – even if he was the one who called her there – Judy decided it was best to start somewhere.

Nick chuckled slightly. "Well, as far as you're concerned you must've done something to tick him off lately… As for me? My natural foxy charm I suppose."

"Nick." Her tone made him internally wince. "Be serious for once. When you called me an hour ago you sounded like Bogo was going to either arrest you or fire you."

She was now looking at him with somewhat hurt expression, which only made him wince harder.

"So please, be straightforward with me, what case, or whatever, did Bogo want to talk with you about, and why didn't he call me in as well."

Slowly, Nick's neutral expression began to crumble. His ears lowered and his shoulders slouched. He put his tea cup down beside the couch and sighed.

"Sorry Judy, you know how I get defensive sometimes…" Ok he was using her real name. That was a very good sign serious Nick was taking over.

"While I do think you DID tick him off at some point and that's why you got parking duty, that's not why he didn't want you with me."

Really? What had she done to get the Chief cross and acting in such a petty… Ooohhhh… Her last week's parking duty stint: she'd ticketed his car fifty seconds after the meter expired. She should really pay more attention to how long had passed since –

"He was afraid of your reaction to what he had to say."

Huh?

"What do you mean?"

Finally Nick managed to face her, though his sorrowful expression remained unchanged.

"You know I'm not good at sugar-coating things and if I don't say them outright I usually just hide them, so I'll be blunt."

"A number of our colleagues, both in Precinct 1 and in the other stations, are corrupt."

Judy felt her nose twitch and she blinked.

"Not only that but they've apparently formed a syndicate and have been working with or for the city's major kingpins to make their businesses safer and more efficient. The syndicate also seems to extend to City Hall, given their reach as far as the judicial system goes."

Seeing Judy was wide eyed and wordless, Nick turned his head back towards the floor and concluded. "That was all the Chief told me about the situation. He said if we decided to work this case he'd share the rest of the details." And then he sighed again.

If on the outside Judy looked completely floored and at a loss for words, on the inside she had too many thoughts to deal with. _How could they. Why are they doing this? What exactly do they do? Are we in danger? What –_

Whatever line of thought her mind was following was however severed as Nick unexpectedly continued. Only this time, he was just starring at nothing.

"That's not all Bogo told me though."

"As you'd expect he had already started thinking of ways to fight back against this new syndicate, and he's come to the conclusion that the most reliable way to get the incriminating information we need is to get someone on the inside while undercover…"

At the mention of actual police work Judy's mind finally managed to settle down enough to form coherent thoughts, though she still struggled to convey them normally. "Well, yeah… um… that makes sense… they're probably very careful with their tracks… but – " And then something important came to the forefront of her mind " – who'd do it? We're being asked to take the case, but the Chief doesn't know who to trust, so who would – ".

"That would be me Carrots."

She could swear her heart stopped for a bit. And her ears definitely got glued to her back.

"That's why Bogo asked for me specifically and before actually presenting the case: he wanted to come clean with me and give me the chance to consider my options very carefully."

"But why you?! I can't investigate whatever leads come up alone, and we can't be the only cops he trusts. Not to mention there are other more experienced – "

"Judy, who am I?"

She was taken aback by the question. What was he talking about, he was Nick Wilde, her partner and best friend. Someone who she couldn't even dream of spending her life without! And now he was getting asked to undergo the most dangerous assignment ever.

She didn't get to say anything though.

"How long did it take for even half the Precinct to believe I wasn't there just to pull some heist?"

Nick was now looking at her with a pained expression.

"Some of our co-workers _still_ think I have an ulterior motive to work at the ZPD. I'm the one that would raise the least suspicion if I went awol just like that. Bogo knows it and I know it. I'm the logical choice! Because it seems my past always has a way of coming back to haunt me."

Talking through grit teeth, he wasn't directing his anger at Judy, if anything he was frustrated. Still, the low growl emanating from deep within Nick was certainly unsettling. He was now venting with her, pouring out all the bile that had been clogging his mind since the meeting with the Chief.

"But of course this had to come up now. Now that I have an actual job, and one I'm proud of. Now that I have friends that aren't just business associates. Now that I have an actual home. Now that I've finally made up with my mom and I'm a fox my father might be proud of, now I have to go back to being a good for nothing conniving crook!"

After that outburst he took a deep breath and picked up his tea cup, by now filled with cold brew, and began sipping it for whatever little comfort it could give.

Judy didn't initially have anything to say. He was right, things were finally good for him. And that last part did make her feel a knot in her throat.

She had met Marion Wilde, Nick's mother, at his graduation ceremony. After a few tries Nick had managed to get into contact with her, and while she was a bit incredulous at first, that little smidgen of hope that she had always kept tucked away in her heart maid Marion actually show up at the park where the Graduation was taking place. With all the hippos rhinos and bears though, she didn't actually manage to see Nick until he got onto the stage. She had already been moved by the cheerful bunny cop's speech, but seeing her son, who had been lost to her and in a way to the world for more than a dozen years, get a badge pinned to his chest, a badge which represented the ideals he had cherished in his youth, and that he had lost to society's scorn… At that point the dam broke, and tears were shed. Happy ones, relieved even, but also tears of pride.

After the formal ceremony was over, it was Marion who found Nick, who at first just stood there unsure of what to do and reluctant to look his mother in the eye, years of disappointment still weighing heavily on him. When he finally mustered enough courage to talk, he didn't get too, as he found himself once again in the embrace of his mother. Somewhere he'd almost given up hope of finding himself in again. Standing beside them, Judy could do nothing but smile and wipe a tear of her own.

That memory did at least jerk Judy's mind, and she started thinking more clearly. She put on the friendliest expression she could muster, perking her ears up, and reached for Nick's shoulder.

"Nick, look at me."

Reluctantly, the tod complied, with a grimace and heavy eyes tainting his otherwise sharp image.

"I understand that you need to talk this through with me, but in the end this is your call."

"Should we take the case, you'd be the one putting yourself at greater risk. And while I don't like the prospect of working in a corrupt ZPD, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to keep going without you, corruption or not."

At that Nick closed his eyes and put his own paw over the one she had on his shoulder.

"Remember the speech you gave at my graduation Judy?"

"That speech sums up my motivation for joining the ZPD" _Other than staying with you_ , he added to himself. "And it's also the reason why I've already made up my mind on the undercover job."

Judy unconsciously gripped his shoulder tighter.

"If we don't change ourselves and our surroundings we can't expect the world to do it for us and how we want it done. Change starts with us, you said. Well you were right."

"If that's your decision…" Judy said, while scooting over closer to her friend.

Nick sighed and released her hand, joining both of his over his knees and lowering his head.

"I'm just afraid of what might happen if we… if I, fail."

"If Bogo can't vouch for me for some reason, or I get in to deep and don't pull through, I run the risk of losing everything. My job, the family that I alienated for so long, and most of all you…"

"And I'm not sure I'd be able to take it."

Judy then got off the couch and crouched in front of the fox. Gently placing her paw under his chin, she lifted his head up until he was eye level with her. Then she softly reassured him.

"No matter what happens, to either of us, you'll never, EVER, lose me."

She then proceeded to push herself up, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. "That I promise."

Slightly surprised at first Nick slowly eased into the hug, soon wrapping his own arms around her back. Soon enough Judy could feel one or two warm drops fall on her shoulder.

And there they stayed for some time, comforting each other and steeling themselves for the ordeal that lay ahead.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wooo mama!**

 **That was a doozy to write, though I have to say I'm pleased with the outcome. And since it's technically still Wednesday here in Portugal I've kept my word :D**

 **I only fear the end of the chapter might seem a bit abrupt… Tell me what you think.**

 **Now, I have to give a shout out to 2 artists: Spintherella and Yudukichi, who both have pages on Deviantart.**

 **Their art both inspired a couple of scenes on this chapter and it means you can see what they'd actually look like!**

 **Yudukichi's "I'm so proud of you" is just beautiful.**

 **Spintherella's Interschminter is an amazing comic, just flat out awesome and the page 4.11 fits this chapter's ending perfectly (save for what happens before and after, though that's good too :P).**

 **A quick note regarding Nick's work for the mob. While there are many interpretations of what he exactly did while under Mr Big's tutelage (and I've even talked about this with other authors, like Upplet) and they can all be reasonable in the right story, here's my take. Nick would have started conning after high school. His schemes would have made him appear in the mob's radar. Seeing the potential in him and perhaps feeling a bit of pity, Mr Big takes him in rather than punish him. With his quick wit and silver tongue, Nick would have made a great deal broker (hence the term** _ **fixer**_ **) for the mobster.**

 **It's impossible that everyone will agree with me, but this is just what I imagine would have happened. You're all welcome to share your views of course :).**

 **Next chapter should be up by Saturday.**

 **As before, all reviews and PMs are highly welcome so that I know what I should improve or just change.**

 **Cheers!**

 **P.S.**

 **Roll credits… sort of XD**


	4. Ch4 - Game plan

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

For Notes regarding this work and myself, refer to the bottom of this Chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Game plan**

"Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde, I assume you've had a chance to discuss the situation I exposed yesterday?"

After the talk they had had the day before, Nick and Judy had decided it would be best to waste as little time as possible, and, to that end, they had approached Chief Bogo right after the morning briefing. One thing they had noticed however, is that during said briefing they had been given standard patrol. Bogo certainly didn't want anyone else finding out about his suspicions or plans.

They were now in the Chief's office, both sitting in the same oversized chair (and with some room to spare) waiting for the full description of MR's known activities and how they would go about infiltrating and, hopefully, shutting them down.

Judy was the first to talk.

"We have, sir. Though, before we continue, and if I may, what reaction of mine were you concerned with, sir?"

Cocking an eyebrow but otherwise maintaining his stony and apparently uninterested expression, the buffalo explained.

"Hopps, we both know how seriously you take matters of honour and trust." His expression appeared to somewhat soften, a hint of compassion tugging at his features. "Had I been the one to give you the news, I expected two possible outcomes: one, you'd be so enraged and insulted that your berating would be heard by the entire precinct, two, you'd be so appalled that you went blank."

Judy's eyes widened suddenly and she nervously started to fidget with her wrist guards. Bogo was right, and if Nick hadn't also described what his intended involvement would be she would have probably stayed mum and unresponsive for a while…

"Am I wrong Officer?" Bogo asked.

Of course Nick was also here with her to remove her from her self-scolding, except this time he didn't have a worry of his own…

"Not at all Chief, if Officer Hopps' uniform was green I swear I would have mistook her for a vegetable of some kind."

That earned him a sideways glare from her partner and a frustrated huff from his boss, though those did little to swat the grin off his face.

"If you're quite done Wilde, I'd like to continue with this meeting." The Chief's quiet voice could have been mistaken for tolerance, though given the crazy looking eyes and the slight scrunch of the brow he had on, that was definitely not the case…

After the fox retreated back into the chair as far as possible as if to escape the deathly gaze from him, the Chief relaxed, satisfied, and coughed to clear the mood.

Looking at Judy once again, he added a clarification.

"To be completely honest, and Wilde discussed this with you yesterday, I also wanted to personally explain what it would mean for him if you chose to take the case."

The bunny cop nodded solemnly, recognizing the seriousness of what her partner would be required to do.

Now looking at both of the smaller officers that stood before him, Bogo finally asked.

"So what is your decision?"

Pursing her lips and feeling her ears start to droop Judy looked towards Nick. They had already reached a consensus the day before, but given how hard it had been on him just thinking about all the things that might go wrong, she wouldn't be at all surprised if her partner had had second thoughts.

Nick noticed the worried look on the rabbit's face, and realized she was waiting for him to answer. She was willing to drop a case of this magnitude to make sure he didn't get hurt. That thought alone made his heart swell, and certainly helped him straighten up his back and perk his ears as he calmly spoke.

"We will be taking the case, sir. I will try to gain access to MR's ranks and learn what I can, while Officer Hopps investigates however she can on the surface. "

Closing his eyes Bogo nodded and let out a somewhat relieved sigh. He had certainly hoped they were up for it, but he would never push them into it.

Trying to avoid any thoughts of how the investigation could end if they failed, the buffalo focused on the practicalities of the task at hand. Getting up he retrieved a pair of nondescript cardboard folders from a filling cabinet which, unlike the rest of those around the office, did not possess a label. It was also the only one with a padlock _and_ a regular lock.

Handing the folders to both bunny and fox, the Chief began a more detailed exposition.

"In those folders I have personally compiled a list of Officers of the first Precinct I suspect may be on the take. Some might work for MR, others might be going solo, some might even be innocent. Point is, you'll have your work cut out for you."

Nick and Judy simply exchanged worried glances.

"The only one I'm almost sure of is Sargent Higgins, since he was the only one to know about anything MR related (other than Wolford and myself) and he was the one with the dingo before and after the interrogation. That might make him a good place to start."

"As far as I can tell, MR's activities are mostly focused on providing safe passage and protection for any of the Crime Boss' shipments." Gritting his teeth he added. "Though it's worth noting that said protection is both from rival gangs _and_ from us…"

"Since they also have people in City Hall we can expect them to also possess some political or at least legislative weight, though I haven't been able to confirm any of this."

The buffalo then focused his heavy gaze on Nick. "Now, as far as getting into MR, while I may be able to provide some insight, I'm not the right person to be coaching you Wilde. For that you'll be heading to Precinct 12 in the Nocturnal District where you'll both talk to Deputy Chief Castor Gordon. They have long been the undercover experts in the City and his experience and knowledge will be precious."

Raising a hand Judy waited for Bogo to finish before asking. "Sir, won't it be suspicious if we just go there without a clear reason?"

The buffalo eyes seemed to shimmer a bit. He'd definitely given this a lot of thought.

"Not to worry Hopps, you'll be heading there as the officers responsible for the 'Wallet' case. It's also in the folders I gave you, but to sum it up there has been a string of robberies – snatched purses and wallets – for the past month which started in the Nocturnal district."

The bunny's ears perked up as she caught on to her boss' idea. "So we'll just be heading there following up on a regular investigation…" However a sudden pout emerged as she thought of something. "But won't that mean the Wallet case goes uninvestigated?"

At that both fox and buffalo chuckled and exchanged knowing glances.

"Always go above and beyond huh Carrots?" Nick mused.

Followed by Bogo. "Not to worry, Wolford and Fangmeyer had been on the case, but it had turned into a dead end. Should you find anything useful, by all means follow it up, but remember this is not a priority case, MR is."

Judy didn't really feel good about leaving a case no matter how hard or unimportant unsolved, but she decided she should let this one slide in order to focus all her energies on the real threat. Only for once though. Never again. Nope.

"Coughing to regain the attention of his subordinates, Bogo continued. "Your record has been very good Wilde, and while most of it _has_ restricted access, we must expect them to be able to look into your time with the ZPD. This means you'll have to convince them your work up until recently had been just a front. How you go about that is up to you, though Deputy Chief Gordon should be able to help."

He fox simply nodded. He'd been expecting something like this, the need to make all his previous hard work seem like a simple con to gain the ZPD's trust. The thought alone made some of his fur stand on end.

Shaking his head slightly, Nick inquired. "How should we handle reports on our progress sir?"

"Let me worry about that Wilde. I'll find a way to get you in here, together or apart, at least once a week so you can report on how the case is going."

"Now go, Gordon is expecting you. Just have Wolford give you his case file on the Wallet mess and, if he asks, tell him I thought it best to introduce you to the Nocturnal district. Dismissed."

Getting off their shared chair, both smaller officers gave a small salute and turned around, exiting the office.

Instead of heading for the main lobby and the exit however, they instead turned towards the ZPD's vast and varied office spaces.

Even though each City District had its own Precinct which was perfectly adapted to the environment in question in pretty much every way possible, from size and shape to climate control, Savannah Central was still the City's central hub. As such you could find pretty much all types of mammals there, even if they were just passing by. This of course meant that Precinct One had to be much more adaptable than the others, since the situations they could have on their hands were far less limited. The main consequence of this was that the actual Police force itself was rather varied, and this in turn meant that the office spaces of the Precinct had been constructed in order to accommodate literally any mammal.

The result? Two twenty feet tall floors each covering the area equivalent to half a football pitch. These dimensions allowed any animal, no matter how big or bulky, to work there, let's say _comfortably_.

The cubicles themselves were organized by height, so when one went into the offices, they could see what looked like massive stairs made up of the cubicle walls.

Fortunately, the bunny and fox were looking for two wolves, which, being medium sized mammals, weren't too far towards the back.

Once they found Wolford and Fangmeyer's shared cubicle (partners shared them), Nick brought a finger up to his muzzle, asking the bunny to remain silent. Through a confused and inquisitive look Judy stayed mum, and watched as her partner snuck up to the cubicle's entrance and, grinning mischievously, took a deep breath.

Eyes widening as she realized what Nick wanted to pull off, Judy darted forward catching his muzzle in her paw and pulling him behind the cubicle wall. Bringing her other paw up she started pointing at the fox, all the while staring at him with a Bogo like glare.

Once the surprise of being pulled back by his snout passed, and Nick saw the silent threat the bunny was issuing him, he rolled his eyes and slowly brought his own paws up in surrender.

Once she released her hold on him (though her stare remained), he chuckled and turned back towards the cubicle entrance. "You're no fun Carrots."

Poking his head into the confined space he called out.

"Hey, Wolford, Fangmeyer, got a minute?"

At that the white wolf swivelled his chair around and greeted his colleagues – who had, in the meantime, walked into the cubicle's door frame – with a wide grin.

"Hey Nick, hey Judy. What brings our Precinct's star cops to our humble desk?"

The charcoal furred wolf however stayed focused on his reports, only letting himself scold the fox.

"Unless he's here to apologize for last week, those stars can go shine somewhere else."

As the other two mammals in the small room looked at him with quizzical expressions, Nick's grin grew almost unnoticeably wider, though his eyes remained as half-lidded and lazy as ever.

"What are you talking about Wolford?"

Slowly turning around in his moaning office chair, the wolf in question came eye to eye with the fox.

"I do not like salted coffee, Wilde, and the sugar dispenser reeked of you."

Right… wolf sense of smell… In hindsight, messing with the coffee in a workplace that practically ran on the stuff – most mammals don't start working before seven without some help – wasn't his best idea ever for a prank. Though the results had been worth it…

Closing his eyes and putting his paws up – but retaining his smile – he answered. "Guilty as charged. Though you have to admit, there were a few funny reactions."

Judy and Fangmeyer, who hadn't drank the beverage in question were now looking at each other with wide eyes, though it seemed the wolf was just on the verge of bursting into laughter, with his cheeks puffing every few seconds. Wolford on the other hand, just pouted.

"Come one Wolford, I'll make it up to you! You'll see."

Raising an eyebrow but otherwise softening his expression, the lupine finally conceded. "You better."

"Scout's honour." Said Nick with two fingers raised. "Now we did _actually_ need something from you."

Since Fangmeyer was still apparently fighting back a laughing fit, Wolford was the one to reply once again.

"Right, right… so what was this about?"

"The Chief wants us to take over the Wallet case from you guys, so we were hoping you'd give us the case file." Judy took the chance to jump in and prevent any other Nick related delays.

"That dead end? Why? It hasn't had a break in weeks."

"Ol' Buffalo Butt thought it best to introduce us to the Nocturnal District, and that way we get to actually see how our colleagues down under work." This time it was Nick who answered.

"Huh, fair enough. Though I don't envy you going down there…"

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

Wolford just shrugged as he turned his chair back towards his desk and started looking through a drawer. "Nocturnal's are a rather peculiar bunch… But what really irks me about the place is how tense it always feels."

Turning back to the smaller duo he presented a folder bristling with pictures.

"Feels like any corner you turn you could see a couple of punks gutting each other."

Judy's gaze turned to Nick, a wordless worry filling her otherwise pristine violet pools.

Taking the folder from the wolf, Nick turned to see his partner rather distraught and decided it would be best to change topics as fast as possible. Not that the Nocturnal district wouldn't be brought up again – they were heading into it after all – but he'd like to prepare her for it on his own terms.

"Thanks Wolf." At the rise of the lupine's eyebrow however, Nick added. "And expect a peace offering soon enough."

With an accepting hum, the grey wolf turned back towards his partner, who was _still_ fighting for control over his laughter.

As bunny and fox thanked their co-workers and left the cubicle, they could still hear the argument breaking out inside.

 _What have you been giggling about all this time?_

 _So that's why you almost wretched twice last Thursday morning? Oh man that is too much!_

 _Oh it's funny now is it? Well how would you like it if I put salt on your morning coco?_

 _Hey now that's –_

…

"Are you pleased with yourself mister Wilde? It wasn't enough that coffee deal last week now you wanted to get them to howl? You know how much they resent it!"

A toothy grin was all the reply she got from her partner.

Rubbing her temples, the rabbit just sighed and conceded. "Fiiiiiine… Keep playing your little games. Let's just get to the motor pool."

"Right behind ya Carrots."

#

"What do you think you're doing."

The fox stopped, already halfway into their police cruiser's driving seat. "What?"

"Who said you'd be driving?"

Bringing a paw up to his chin Nick hummed to himself for a bit before replying.

"Do rabbits have enhanced night vision? No, no they do not. And where are we going? That's right: the _Nocturnal_ District."

Cocking an eyebrow, Judy slowly turned back and circled the vehicle to get into the passenger seat. She knew Nick was right but there was no way she'd ever admit it just like that, it would only give him even _more_ fuel for jokes and puns.

Peeling off from the station, silence fell over the cruiser's cab. It wasn't an awkward one they were just both busy with their own thoughts. In fact they rarely had any uncomfortable situations around each other anymore. Slowly their lives had started to meld together, through memories they shared with one another, the occasional similar interest and the deep trust that had blossomed in that gondola cart years ago.

Still, there were a few things they wanted to discuss with the other, and it so happens Judy was the one to step up first.

Eying her partner, she noticed how his entire posture just radiated indifference. Anyone who didn't truly know Nicholas Wilde would see his slightly tilting head, his free arm draped over the door's window sill and his expressionless face and would think nothing of it. Judy however new to look elsewhere: it's not often one of those old mushy sayings has some truth to it, but Nick's eyes truly were the windows to his soul. Two usually vibrant green windows which were now dull and glimerless.

"So you seem to be taking things better than yesterday…"

Glancing over to his partner for a moment, Nick couldn't help but smile, though in Judy's eyes he remained rather glum.

"That's the idea Fluff. I'm going to have to be at the top of my game when it comes to hiding my emotions if we're going to pull this off."

Her ears lowering, the rabbit couldn't suppress a question she already knew the answer to.

"So how are you really feeling."

"Worried, for both of us. Though the faster we actually start doing something the better."

Chancing another look at his friend he explained.

"At least I'll manage to focus on the task at hand and not what might lie ahead."

"Speaking of which. You've never been to the Nocturnal District have you Carrots?"

Judy still wanted to address Nick's concerns regarding the case, but she'd soon learned while working with him that when it came to matters of his emotions, pressure was rarely the best course of action. So he followed Nick's conversation dodger.

"No, and I gotta say, that whole talk with Wolford didn't leave me feeling very welcome there…"

"Yeah… He exaggerated a little bit, but it's a whole different world down there."

Judy's ears immediately perked to attention.

"Wait you've already been there?"

Keeping his eyes on the morning rush hour traffic, the fox explained.

"Sure, while I worked with Mr. Big. He's a smuggler, remember? It was only a matter of time before I got to broker a deal for him down there."

"And yeah, the mammals down there, at least the indigenous ones, can be kind of… _eehh_ … " He started tilting his free hand from side to side. "Though the other part about the violence isn't really a problem for the whole district."

Nick continued as he sped past a stopping bus. "There's a lot more gangs there, but they're even more territorial than Mamma and the others up here, so most violence tends to come up in their borders."

The rabbit limited herself to a hum as she turned back towards the road. She was still apprehensive, but if Nick had been to the Nocturnal District multiple times, as a criminal, and survived, then it couldn't be _that_ bad.

A few moments later they arrived at the tunnels leading into their destination. To reduce maintenance costs all forms of transportation and infrastructure that connected the underground District to the surface converged on the same hub: a massive artificial mound that housed much of the machinery needed to maintain climate control over the subsurface while also allowing entrance to it.

Their cruiser was, together with the rest of the traffic, diverted towards the respective tunnel entrance and, before they knew it, the morning sun had been replaced by regularly spaced artificial lights running the length of the tunnel's ceiling. Lights which grew dimer by the meter, preparing the mammals in question for the darkness that lay ahead.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This chapter was the one that got the biggest rework.**

 **While I didn't change too much of the beginning, I added a whole new second half which was initially a part of chapter 5, but that I found to make more sense here.**

 **I won't go into detail about some things I introduced this chapter as they'll be further developed in the next one.**

 **If all goes according to plan, I should now be able to resume my initial weekly schedule, updating on Saturdays *starts praying quietly*.**


	5. Ch5 - IFF Pt1

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

 _Extra credit goes to Euphonemes who is now helping me by Beta Reading these chapters. He's being extremely helpful in this learning experience for me and his own fic Run definitely deserves a careful read._

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – IFF Pt 1**

 _IFF = Identification Friend or Foe, technique which, with the proper equipment allows identification of a target as friendly but not as hostile. If the system gets a valid response from the target it can be confirmed as friendly, but an invalid or non-existent reply does NOT positively confirm it as hostile… Military nerdiness kicking in, sorry XP._

In many ways the Nocturnal District was a direct continuation of Zootopia and its ideals into the bowels of the Earth. Its core however, the mammals which inhabited it, lived in an almost alternate reality. On the surface, the night is a time for fun, friends, the odd stiff drink and the mistakes that it usually entails, it's nothing more than a passing state, a slate that's wiped clean with the Sun's first rays. Underground however, the night is the only life there is.

Zootopia had been built on top of a legendary watering hole – remnants of which could still be found in districts like Savannah Central or Sahara Square. This spot had brought mammals together for centuries, regardless of species. During the initial stages of the city's construction, it was discovered that said watering hole was supplied by a massive underground aquifer, which was tapped in order to facilitate the water distribution for such a massive city. It was during the excavation of the aquifers' supply lines that the massive cave system that would later become the Nocturnal District had been discovered.

While initially seen as potential sources of lucrative mineral deposits, the caves turned out to be mad of only depleted hunks of rock. The City's builders then thought that this would be a golden opportunity to further improve Zootopia's welcoming stance on species: it would now be possible for nocturnal mammals to work alongside their diurnal counterparts without the Suns meddling.

And what the cave system was lacking in precious metals and minerals, it made up for in building supplies: limestone, granite, clay, iron, everything the city needed. Soon, the rate of edification of the underground space was rivalling that of the surface.

Even with the abundance of raw materials, it was still thought best to use the natural geological features of the caves in the construction of the Nocturnal District – if not to facilitate it, then at least to compliment the already alien aesthetic of the area.

The results were now causing a certain bunny to find herself glued to her police cruiser's passenger side window, jaw hanging and eyes wide. It was a bit of a struggle to see with the dimer lighting, but it really was more the sights of the District that had her like this.

Over eons, the army of stalagmites and stalactites that littered the caves had become connected, as diluted minerals in the aquifer's water slowly dripped from the ceiling, depositing themselves and growing.

Some of those natural pillars had been reinforced, now serving as additional supports for the caves. But most had been hollowed ot at their thicker ends and were now the District's double-ended skyscrapers.

Likely due to the origins of the cave the floor wasn't flat throughout the district. Rather it was like living in a massive cereal bowl. _Finally one big enough for Clawhauser's appetite,_ Judy thought. To address this oddity of nature, architects and engineers had taken a page from hill farming and had turned the steeper, uninhabitable slopes into several levels of terraces, each with its own neighbourhood.

The smaller and higher up pockets were used to accommodate most of the District's industry. This had been done to prevent most industrial waste and especially any exhaust fumes from reaching the suburban areas. While the caves had a complex air cycling system which pushed most gases to the surface through the tunnels which also led into the district, it was thought best to give industrial exhausts their own removal system. To that end, the higher up the factory, the less digging would be required to directly extract its fumes to the surface. _Also great places for secret meetings…_ Judy might have been in awe from the sights, but her cop brain still managed to pull through.

While taking in this fascinating new world, Judy suddenly found herself surprised to actually be able to _see_ these features. She couldn't garner every detail, yes, but she had expected a pitch black environment that would completely rob her of her sight. It was still enough for her other senses to assume more prominent roles.

As they calmly rolled down a busy street, all the little sounds her oversized ears were constantly picking out (and that she usually just ignored) suddenly became relevant: the bell from an opening shop door, the little snippets of conversation that lingered in the air, even her partner's calm breathing. He didn't really have much to be excited about down there, though Judy figured he was probably trying to _keep_ himself calm. Given the latest developments on their assignment, she couldn't really blame him.

At the same time, her nose also started being more active, picking out the inviting scent of a nearby bakery, and then that of a dry-cleaner's, and… Nick's musk?

After 3 years of living almost every waking moment with him, she'd gone nose blind to his scent. With her vision hampered, it once again registered. And yet… it wasn't what she remembered. When they had started out as actual partners, it was probably one of the only things she found unpleasant in him, but it was… comforting. It confirmed he was sitting there next to her.

As a nearby car screeched to a halt in front of a red light, she found her attention drawn to the sources of light around her. She found that the bigger main streets (like the one they were on) had similar lights as the ones above ground, only they were set to a much lower power output. Still, that couldn't explain how she managed to take in even the areas without clear light sources.

The confusion must have shown on her face, for as soon as she turned towards her partner to ask about it, she saw him holding his free paw up and pointing towards the ceiling.

"Look up Carrots."

…

 _Woah…_

Glow-worms. As far as the eye could see, emitting a constant and pleasantly soft light of a bluish hue. They were also neatly organized into several lines, stretching the entire roof of the cave. _Almost like crops in a field_ , Judy thought.

"It's quite a sight huh Fluff…"

"You've got that right partner…"

Nick chuckled.

"It's actually amazing how efficient they manage to be down here. They grow the worms up there for a softer ambient light, and then use them as a local delicacy!"

While the mere thought of eating glow-worms made her stomach turn as she shuddered in disgust, her original confusion settled back in.

"But why does there need to be light? Aren't most of the Nocturnals able to see in the dark?"

"A common misconception my naïve lapine friend…"

 _Oh great_ , she thought, _I've just given him more joke ammo…_

"While there are some mammals who don't actually need any light to see, like bats for instance, the truth is that the night vision the rest of us possess only allows us to better make use of low light conditions. We still need _some_ to see, just a lot less than other mammals.

And as I'm sure you've already guessed, the main streets have some extra lighting so that surface dwellers don't struggle as much when they need to come down here."

Judy hummed affirmatively as she refocused on their surroundings. She noticed they were travelling down one of those same main streets, towards one of the biggest pillars around – at least, as far as her hampered eyesight could tell.

"Is that where we're heading?"

Nick nodded.

"Yup. According to Bogo's instructions, that pillar houses most of the main public services for the district, namely ZPD's Precinct 12."

This was certainly shaping up to be quite the field trip.

#

Having parked their cruiser in the visitor portion of the precinct's motor pool, fox and rabbit made their way up to the main lobby.

Turned out most ZPD Precincts followed the same basic layout, only with differences in scale and some facilities: for instance, Precinct 12 had two front entrances, one on the ground level and another some 30 feet in the air designated for bats.

Walking up to the reception they found it manned by a grey furred opossum. As they waited for him to finish answering a call, they took the time to notice that Precinct 12 was actually designed for mammals around their size, and that it was mostly populated by moles, opossums such as the receptionist, badgers, aardvarks and the odd wolf.

"Um… ex-excuse me? Can I, um, help you officers?"

The opossum had finished and was now looking at them rather uncomfortably. He'd probably noticed they weren't from his precinct. Even though their Precinct 1 badges shone in the more intense light inside the station, Judy guessed other more obvious traits had given it away.

Taking the initiative, Judy smiled broadly as she explained.

"Oh hi! Yes, actually. We're here from Precinct 1. We have a meeting with your Chief. Officers Hopps and Wilde?"

Fully opening his beady black eyes, the opossum nearly fell off his chair.

They turned to each other finding that both had their eyebrows raised at the unfolding spectacle.

Returning their gaze to the now panting mammal, it was Nick's turn to chime in.

"You okay there buddy? It looked like you were about to faint!"

Still breathing heavily, the opossum regained enough composure to once again address the visitors. "Sorry about that… It's just I don't really do to well with… um… famous people."

While Nick had to quickly don unmovable expression of his hustling days just to keep the laughter at bay, Judy couldn't help but groan slightly. The fame their first case had brought was nice, but she still looked at it as nothing more than doing her job.

Trying to regain her initial friendly expression, she repeated her question. "So, about that meeting...?"

"OH! Um…" The opossum quickly glanced at his monitor before answering. "Yes, um… He's expecting you. Do you need help getting there?"

Having avoided his potential laughing fit, Nick started heading for the stairs and shot back. "Nah don't worry, this Precinct's just like ours."

#

Easily navigating the vaguely familiar corridors of Precinct 12, both officers soon found themselves looking at what they knew to be the Deputy Chief's door, only in this case they didn't have to reach up to grab the doorknob…

Once again Judy took the lead and gently knocked on the door's frosted glass while announcing her and her partner's presence. "Excuse me, Deputy Chief Gordon? It's officers Hopps and Wilde."

"Ah yes! Do come in officers."

As they pushed the door open, they once again found themselves in a miniature version of their own boss' office. Only this one wasn't _quite_ as tidy, with plenty of case file boxes crammed between furniture on which even more boxes were piled high.

"Please, have a seat."

They did – in separate chairs for once – and finally came eye to eye with the true reason behind their visit to the District: the beaver Castor Gordon, Deputy Chief of Precinct 12. While he was, for the most part, pretty ordinary when it came to looks, there were a few distinctive features that Judy's trained eyes caught.

His fur, for instance, was the same deep brown as pretty much any other beaver, but it was rather kempt and groomed. His tail had slightly discoloured and swollen edges, as if it kept getting hit or hitting something. And finally, even for a beaver, he had an impressive set of whiskers, both in size and number.

"Well I must say it's an honour to finally meet the officers who brought down Bellwether's conspiracy."

Their fame seemed to follow them everywhere, and while usually a source of admiration and pride, it was still slightly uncomfortable to have a Chief of Police compliment them… _Probably Bogo's influence_ , Judy thought.

"The feeling is mutual, Deputy Chief Gordon." Nick decided to step in. "The work you've done for the Nocturnal District is truly remarkable."

Gordon had been appointed Deputy Chief of the underground district's police force around the time Bogo got his own promotion to the position in Downtown, about 15 years before. And while the changes weren't immediate, when they started they couldn't be stopped. Thanks to less than standard tactics, the numerous criminal gangs of the District had, for the first time in decades, found themselves pushed out of its main suburban areas, allowing the local residents to finally feel something akin to safety. It wasn't a perfect district and it still had more crime than the surface, but it was miles from what it used to be.

There were rumours he hadn't accomplished this alone, but the results were what had mattered at the time and no evidence of foul play had ever been found.

But Bogo trusted him, and for Nick and Judy that was about the best recommendation anyone could get.

"Though I wish this meeting were under better circumstances." The fox concluded.

The beaver's expression immediately soured.

"Yes… I had to deal with my own share of corrupt cops when I became Chief down here… It's a sickening feeling, knowing that your co-workers are spitting on the values that our badge proudly carries."

Gordon drew in a deep breath and then pressed the issue.

"That's not where I gained the knowledge that brings you both down here, however. In fact, compared to the undercover missions we've had on our hands, this one involves many more risks…"

While Nick restricted himself to a nod, Judy couldn't help but to cast a quick glance at her partner. She knew the fox could take care of himself – he was alone long before she found him – but now she couldn't help but worry and fear for her friend.

"You see officers, most of the time, when infiltrating a criminal organization you tend to already have some idea of who its members are and how they operate. Preparation is always important in our line of work, but even more so when we send someone behind enemy lines, so to speak."

He opened one of his desk's drawers and removed another case file exactly like the ones Nick and Judy had been given.

"In this case, however, the nature of the threat has forced your Chief's hand, and you're now going in pretty much naked… And to make matters worse the only intel we have on this MR's ranks are the _possibly_ corrupt cops from one ZPD Precinct out of twelve. Not to mention whatever politicians they have in City Hall."

At this point the beaver had slid slightly down his chair and was looking glumly at the file Bogo had forwarded him.

"So how do we go about this, Chief?" The rabbit was the one asking, her back straight in her chair.

The beaver chuckled as he responded. "Your reputation precedes you, Officer Hopps… You're right, let's get down to business." He turned his attention to Nick. "If you're going to succeed in getting into MR you're going to need to do two things: one, show that you are not the straight-arrow cop everyone thinks you are, and two, either have something they might be interested in or – and this is the worse option but also the more likely – be the one to ask for their services…"

While Judy immediately froze with shock clouding her face, Nick's expression was one of pure disgust, with his ears flat, a grimace replacing his signature smirk and his hackles fully raised.

Closing his eyes and nodding in understanding Gordon continued. "I know, I know… but it's your best shot. You _could_ play your closeness to Chief Bogo as a possible source of interest for them, but they already seem to have Sargent Higgins on the payroll, so they have all the eyes and ears on the Chief they need."

Higgins, as Sargent, handled the assignment of officers to each case. Bogo would dictate, and Higgins would comply. What better position to monitor the buffalo. "That's the biggest issue with this whole debacle: apart from one or two suspects, all we can really be sure of is who might _not_ be a part of MR, and even that is a short list…"

Since Judy was still trying to exit her daze Nick took to furthering the conversation. "But how – never mind why – would I even ask for their help? We only know about Higgins because he was careless. Talking to him would only warn MR we're onto them!"

"We'll get to why in a minute, but as for how you'd go about it… no matter how secretive these syndicates are, they still deal in favours, extortion and, well, mammals…" The beaver stopped for a second and scratched his chin. "That actually gives me an inkling of what 'MR' might stand for… but as I was saying, because of their business they will always have someone serving as their… let's say public contact."

Nick appeared a tad skeptical. "A public contact?"

"Someone, who's usually a part of the higher echelons of the syndicate's ranks, which serves as a permanent and general point of contact for any client or associate. As for who that mammal is, you'll have to figure that one out yourselves, but look for the one everyone turns to when they need something in your precinct…"

Shaking her head, Judy was finally able to re-join the discussion. "I might have an idea as to who that could be… but I'll need to make sure."

Turning back towards the fox, Gordon's expression grew even more serious.

"Just a minute ago, you asked me why you would even ask for their help, Officer Wilde."

Allowing the tod to nod, he continued.

"As I already said, the first thing you'll need to accomplish is convincing everyone that whatever good your records might say of you is nothing more than you trying to gain the ZPD's trust… and now that it's been a year since your probation period has ended –"

Both Nick and Judy's eyes suddenly widened and the latter head swivelled towards her partner. _How the heck did Gordon know about that?!_

"Yes, Officer, I know of your deal with Bogo. Quite the leap of faith for the both of you. But we should assume that MR knows about it as well."

Gordon allowed himself a small pause, giving both officers in front of him a moment to recompose themselves.

"Anyway, now your probation is one year behind you, should you start playing by your own rules, they probably wouldn't think much of it. Maybe they'd even wonder how you went straight for so long."

Nick could only look away, trying to focus himself on anything but the lie he'd have to live in for the foreseeable future. Judy noticed his eyes wandered onto the oversized ZPD badge all its Chiefs' had in their offices, and then locked onto the values engraved onto it: 'Trust', 'Bravery', 'Integrity'…

"I know this is hard Officer, but we need to continue."

Nodding once before turning back towards Gordon, Nick once again caught Judy's glance. Only it wasn't filled with worry this time around. No, this time she looked at him with the trust only a relationship like theirs could allow for.

"Now, if you manage to exude this message through your actions and posture for a few weeks, together with your past, it might be enough for MR to not suspect of any involvement you have with them."

"As for getting their help, I'm afraid you'll have to, well… commit a crime. Something big enough to be a problem for your career but small enough to not be noticed immediately. You'd approach their contact seeking help in keeping quiet whatever mess you came up with."

At this point, Nick just allowed his head to collapse onto his paws, shaking it slowly in disbelief. Judy, on the other hand, thanked her grey fur, as she could feel herself going white under it.

Despite the harried looks of the two officers sitting in his chairs, Gordon continued. "Having made contact, MR should then see you as a useful asset that they could control, since they would have the means to pull the rug on you should you disobey. At that point you'd be one more of their pawns, but you'd also be in a position to start climbing their ranks and discovering who they are and how they work."

His exposition concluded, Gordon fell silent and stared at the two young officers before him. Suddenly, they'd found themselves caught up in a case that would have a senior Organized Crime officer thinking twice about the job…

"There's one thing I should add, which would make this slightly harder but also safer for you, Officer Wilde: if the crime you committed could be set up with Bogo's knowledge and the help from a friend you fully trust, then you'd have one less thing to deal with in the potential fallout of the case…"

In Nick's mind his snarky side made a sudden appearance, _Hey this has a silver-lining after all!_ Before being once again crushed by the weight of the discussion that had just transpired.

Taking a deep breath, Deputy Chief Gordon turned his gaze to the rabbit, who had, in the meantime, placed a hand on the fox's shoulder and was now rubbing it tenderly.

"May I address you now, Officer Hopps?"

Judy was startled, and her head immediately turned to her superior, though her hand never left Nick's shoulder.

"Hm? Oh, yes of course, Chief Gordon!"

"Bogo wanted me to give you some insight into what we might be dealing with in City Hall, correct?" At the bunny's nod, the beaver continued and, for the first time since the beginning of the conversation, smiled slightly. "Well, for that I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you on another wild goose chase, only this time, you'll be heading to Zootopia's Penitentiary."

Having recovered some of his composure, Nick joined Judy with his own eyebrow raised.

"I understand why your Chief didn't send you there in the first place, but if he won't tell you, then I will."

"But who in prison would be able to help us, let alone even want to talk to us?" Judy was incredulous.

"Arguably the only non-savaged victim of the Nighthowler case: Leodore Lionheart." Gordon said naturally.

Nick suddenly harrumphed before talking. "Figures… though I'm guessing it's his experience as mayor we're interested in?"

"Exactly." Pulling open another drawer, Gordon started rummaging through what sounded like stacks of paper, and eventually produced an old newspaper. "You see, while the Mammal Inclusion Initiative was the main banner for both his candidacy and his term, another, less public point of his was the fight on corruption in City Hall. And to this end he actually enlisted the help of some prominent ZPD figures… such as myself."

Turning the newspaper over to where it was now facing the younger officers, he presented a news article that detailed the arrest of a mouse, describing him as a corrupt city official. "The Little Rodentia construction scandal was one of the cases we actually managed to conclude, though many more were opened during Lionheart's administration."

Scratching his chin Nick added, "I remember that, there were payoffs to ignore some construction standards and skim the resulting leftovers in the budgets, right?"

Humming affirmatively, Gordon concluded "I've already taken the liberty of scheduling an interview with him in ooohhh…" He looked over at a clock on the wall. "…about 90 minutes."

"I'm sorry Chief, but aren't those interviews always monitored? If MR has people in the Penitentiary they'll likely get suspicious…" Just another issue with the secrecy of the case that popped up in Judy's head.

"Not to worry Officer Hopps. MR aren't the only ones with contacts in prison…" he said, smiling in a way Judy could only describe as… Nickish. "As I said earlier, the only people whose allegiances we can be sure of are our closest allies. While that's admittedly a short list it does include a couple of prison guards…"

At that both fox and rabbit looked at each other, exchanging quizzical expressions.

"Officers, when half or more of the convicts in the Penitentiary are Nocturnal District thugs and enforcers, it pays off to have a permanent eye on them."

Looking at each other again, Nick and Judy just shrugged. So far Chief Gordon had in fact lived up to Bogo's praise, and everything the former said had been both true and useful. They figured even if things were done a bit differently underground, it really wasn't their place to judge. Especially given their propensity for, _creative,_ solutions for whatever case they happened to be working on…

"My contacts in prison will make sure your conversation with Leodore is not recorded, so try to learn as much as you can."

#

While Judy kept on intently listening, Nick noticed something odd: just as with Bogo, Gordon was referring to Lionheart as more of an acquaintance than a convicted criminal… He didn't get the chance to voice his suspicions however, as the beaver started wrapping up.

"Now, since we've covered the theory of this case, let's actually get your hands on some gear, shall we?" He said as he hopped off his chair and started waddling to the door.

As he reached it, he looked back only to find both younger mammals still in their respective chairs looking dumbfounded. Only Judy actually managed to speak up. "Uh, sir? Chief Bogo only sent us here to talk to you… He didn't say anything about equipment."

"Of course he didn't, but I'm not letting you two walk into a mess of these proportions without some technological help." At that he opened the door and exited, turning right as he did.

While Judy started scratching her chin, _Probably trying to guess what Gordon's gonna give us,_ Nick's mind was preoccupied with a more personal issue.

He'd never been one to hog the spotlight. Even when working for Big, he always preferred to set up a deal and then have someone else go and ratify it. That way, not only did he avoid potential ambushes from Mr Big's rivals, he also dodged the full responsibility for whatever deal was being brokered.

When he went clean and joined the ZPD, he followed the same guidelines: do your job, don't over-invest yourself, never be the one to have to answer for anything. And while this wasn't _always_ possible, it did mean he kept a low profile while never actually slacking off or being looked down upon.

With this case however, there was no way around it. He _was_ the one who had to go in. His performance _would_ mean the difference between the ZPD purging itself or losing itself. And even worse, it might also be crucial to Judy's safety.

Should his true intentions be discovered, their enemies would no doubt make the connection to whatever snooping Judy might be doing. And if they got to him, she'd be next.

As if _that_ wasn't enough, he was also reminded he'd be putting the image he'd fought tooth and nail for on the line. His true image: that of a friendly, sometimes annoying, but honest fox. When he lived on the streets he thought anyone else seeing him that way was just impossible. But after Judy showed him a different side to everyone, his newfound respect – both from himself and from others – became his most prized possession.

Gritting his teeth he made an effort to push these doubts to the back of his mind. There were more pressing matters that needed attention. Chief Gordon, for one, was waiting for them.

"Guess we better go see what he has in store for us Carrots." Nick said getting off his chair.

Nodding in agreement, Judy followed her partner out of the office, where they found the beaver waiting for them in front of the elevators down the hall.

This trip to the Nocturnal District was getting more interesting by the minute.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This chapter was in part a completely new experience for me, with the description of a complex location such as the Nocturnal District. So tell me how you think I did in that regard. (And once again a BIG thanks to Euphonemes for his help, which was especially important in that section).**

 **Also regarding the District, I derped a bit and forgot it's actually a part of the 12 mentioned in the movie, so having its Precinct be number 13 makes no sense (so much for the spooky number…). I've already gone back to correct the previous chapter in this regard.**

 **If someone tells me I'm the first to compare the Nocturnal District to Gotham or at least Arkham, I won't believe you… but I'm still happy with my beaver Gordon XD Also, I might make an alternate version of this chapter (separate from this story) with one or two more funny cameos. I just thought it would take away from the story's sombre tone, so I restricted myself to Gordon here.**

 **An important note regarding the Universe I've set this story on.**

 **I say Bogo (and Gordon) both took office as Chiefs 15 years before this stories' events, which means 12 years before the movie. This is more or less an arbitrary figure, but I did assume Bogo was in his late 40s early 50s in the film, putting him in his mid to late 30s when he became Chief. While he would be a bit young for the role, I'm basing myself more on the Bogo we saw in the movie and his physique.**

 **I think I've already seen the glow-worm idea before, maybe in When Instinct Falls by Upplet. I only remebered as I was posting this chapter so... if he did mention it, let's hope he doesn't mind :P**

 **Give me your thoughts on what's been revealed so far :D**

 **See you next weekend, with tech, another heart to heart, a talk in prison and more!**

 **Cheers!**


	6. Ch6 - IFF Pt2

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

Extra credit goes to Euphonemes who is now helping me by Beta Reading these chapters. He's being extremely helpful in this learning experience for me and his own fic Run definitely deserves a careful read.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – IFF Pt 2**

 _IFF = Identification Friend or Foe, technique which, with the proper equipment allows identification of a target as friendly but not as hostile. If the system gets a valid response from the target it can be confirmed as friendly, but an invalid or non-existent reply does NOT positively confirm it as hostile._

Getting on the elevator, Nick watched as Gordon swiped his ZPD identification badge on the reader next to the number pad and pressed the floor button. Only this time, the fox found himself at a loss as to where he was going. A first since stepping into Precinct 12.

Precinct 1 had three floors above ground and another two below it, but the Deputy Chief had just pressed a button labelled '-3'… This particular precinct had an extra floor. And by the look Judy was giving the number pad, she had noticed it too.

"Um… Sir? Where are we going?"

"The armoury." Gordon replied naturally. Only when he saw her tilted head and quizzical expression did he realize what the bunny had meant. "Oh right, you have the armoury on the second floor below ground…"

As the elevator slowed down the beaver turned towards the doors and, with a glint in his eyes and a smile Nick could only describe as prideful, he explained. "I said we had to resort to less than standard tactics down here, but, we soon found out tactics and skills alone weren't enough for the Nocturnal District."

The elevator came to a full stop and with a 'ding' the doors began to open. "So we had to develop our own specialized tools and equipment to support our officers. And we did so, in here."

As the doors fully slid aside and revealed the mysterious floor, Nick was expecting to be blown away by a space age lab, full of mammals in lab coats working on all sorts of ridiculous gadgets and gear. Instead, the trio was presented with a small waiting room and two regular looking doors. Had they not had to enter the precinct to get there, Nick was pretty sure he'd think he was in a small business' office downtown. Apart from the bland, apparently price-tag driven decoration of the room, there was even a fake potted plant between the doors to complete the set!

There was something off though… not only was the room monitored through a small dome-shaped camera above them, the hinges on the doors were much bigger and tougher than one would expect from flimsy office doors.

And then there were the signs above each of them… The right one read 'Armoury', which is where Gordon was leading them, but the left said 'SkunkWorks'. He assumed that would be the actual workshop where they worked on the tech required for Gordon's 'nonstandard tactics', though as for the name, he had no clue.

The beaver did at least clear one of his doubts, while he exited the elevator and made his way to the rightmost door. "While I am going to provide you with some of our equipment given the, _peculiar_ , situation you're in, I'm afraid the lab itself is still off limits.

"Should you require technical assistance, you'll have to use me as a middle man for it, as we still want to keep the most secrecy possible regarding the projects we have ongoing."

Just as he was about to reach the door, Gordon suddenly stopped and turned on a dime, catching both younger officers off-guard with an unexpectedly serious gaze. "Is that understood, officers?"

Both fox and bunny reeled back slightly from the sudden move, but quickly recovered and vehemently nodded to assure the Deputy Chief of their intentions. Nodding slightly himself, the beaver relaxed, seemingly satisfied with the reaction, and went back to the door that now stood before them.

This time, there was no card reader, just a good old fashioned lock. The key to which, both Nick and Judy found, was attached to a chain Gordon removed from around his neck.

Inserting the key and turning the bolt, a large mechanical _clunk_ was heard and the door retreated slightly into the space that it guarded. At that, the beaver returned his chain and key to his neck and gently pushed; the door slid open.

As they all passed through the threshold, Nick noticed – with considerable awe – how the door frame was as thick as one of his old pawpsickles would have been long. That and the large bore drill holes in it, where the heavy duty locks would go in no doubt.

That first surprise was soon overshadowed by what that brute of a door actually guarded. This time though, Nick couldn't help but let out a low whistle in admiration of the sight that stood before him. He also noticed Judy's nose give a barely noticeable nervous twitch and her eyes shoot open, so it was safe to say the bunny was very much as astonished as him.

Before them stood a space just as large if not larger than Precinct 1's own entrance lobby, filled to the brim with racks, shelves and lockers containing every piece of equipment Nick and Judy could dream of, and plenty more they had no clue even existed.

Radios, cameras, microphones, listening devices, PDAs, body armour, tranq guns, tazers, you name it. It was all there, and in multiple variations each. They even kept a small reserve of gear meant for larger mammals, even though nothing bigger than a wolf worked in the 12th Precinct. _Probably for liaison officers_ , Nick thought.

They were brought back from their tech induced haze when Gordon coughed slightly, clearly wanting their undivided attention. When Nick and Judy obliged, he beckoned them to follow as he started down a row of shelves with radios and other assorted communication devices.

"Officer Wilde, please bring one of the duffle bags here with you, you'll be carrying more than can fit in your pockets." The beaver said pointing at a rack of them at the start of the corridor.

"Since you'll probably have to communicate more discreetly than usual, regular radios won't do." He picked up a couple of small bottle cap looking objects. "These earpieces use the same network as the ZPD, but, unless you decide otherwise, they can also communicate just with each other. That way you'll be able to talk in private and, should the need arise, you'll also be able to use them as regular police radios."

Handing them over to Judy, the beaver turned back to the shelf to get something else. She took them gingerly, giving them a curious glance before once again looking to Gordon, who was now holding a pair of cell phone looking devices.

"Those earpieces also possess a unique GPS tracker, which can only be picked up by these." He waved the gadgets in his hand. "Once you get back, you'll just have to synchronize each one of these GPS receivers with one of the earpieces. While I hope you won't need to rely on these to find each other, better to be safe than sorry."

He once again gave the devices to Judy, who this time had a question for the Deputy Chief.

"Sir? While we appreciate this, we… really don't know how to use these."

Clicking his tongue while shaking his head a little, Gordon replied. "Ah yes, the instructions. They're by the Armoury's entrance, we'll grab them on our way out."

Nodding in agreement, Judy handed the earpieces and receivers to Nick, who, after eyeing them over himself, stored them in one of the smaller pouches of the bag.

Meanwhile, Gordon had already moved ahead and was now browsing a selection of microphones. Following in his steps, they reached him just as he was grabbing one attached to a long cord full of hoops.

"Now, Bogo told me how you two teased Bellwether into monologuing her plans and managed to record them with that pen." He pointed at Judy's carrot pen, which was hanging next to the note pad on her utility belt.

Nick could see her instinctively look at it while a small smile formed on her lips. She had been quite proud of that hustle. Not to say he wasn't, but having to fake going savage and potentially hurting her _for real_ was not his greatest memory. Not to mention they had taken a _big_ risk in assuming the sheep wouldn't double check her ammo… The gun only had the one pellet at the time, and since Doug had been left behind in the subway they doubted the sheep could have procured any more in the meantime. They also found it unlikely she carried any herself, given all the conditions Doug had to meet to produce and maintain them. But these were Nighthowlers they were talking about, and any doubt, no matter how small was a potentially fatal one.

"Well this isn't shiny and orange, nor can it write, but it'll be your best friend when it comes to getting compromising recordings."

This time he handed it to Nick, while adding "Though it's been specifically designed with animals like you in mind, Officer Wilde."

Before Nick could dwell too much on that last comment, Gordon cleared any possible confusion. "Animals with long and bushy tails. Don't worry, the manual I'll give you explains everything."

While Nick's tail did instinctively twitch, he put the microphone in the bag without hesitation. Judy might love her pen, but he'd need something a little less, _carroty_ , to carry around possibly corrupt cops.

Turning back towards the shelves, Gordon grabbed a neatly packed cardboard box from a stack and proceeded to present it to the officers before him, opening the lid and revealing its contents.

Inside Nick and Judy saw a number of mint box sized black objects, each one having half of their top side covered in a fine mesh, with a small button on the other half. "Speaking of getting compromising recordings, you won't always be present during important gatherings or meetings, but if you leave one of these behind you'll be able to know exactly what went on there."

Both Nick and Judy were now looking attentively at said devices. By their size and the box's the fox would venture to guess Gordon was giving them a dozen or so recorders.

"Their underside is coated with a fast acting adhesive, so they can be left hanging under a desk, on a wall or ceiling, or you can just drop them on a table or into a trash can. Once active they can record for 24 hours straight or until they're deactivated, so you can leave them at a location beforehand and after whatever went on there is finished you can collect them."

Closing the box, the beaver gave it to Nick, who, as with the other items, stored it gently in his bag.

"Now, there's one last piece of gear I want to give you, and it's arguably the most important of all." Gordon turned around and walked to the end of the corridor, turning right to enter the one next to it.

Following the beaver, Nick and Judy turned the corner and came to a sudden halt when they were presented with racks after racks of riot gear and other protective garments.

This was going to be an intelligence gathering mission, they weren't supposed to be getting into any scuffles… _Then again_ , Nick thought, _with who we're going to be dealing with, I guess no precaution is too much_.

Gordon had come to a halt in front of a series of coat hangers holding differently sized white vests, and seemed to be looking through their sizes.

"As you know, firearms are heavily restricted in Zootopia, and the ZPD are all but the only ones with legal access." Having found the models he was looking for, the beaver turned to them and Nick finally saw the grave and concerned expression now tainting his image.

"Even _within_ the ZPD only a handful of select officers actually use them with any regularity – and only in the direst of situations. However, given that the ZPD _is_ the threat in this case… even if none of those gun-toting officers is dirty, it'll still be easier for the criminals to get their hands on deadly weapons."

Handing the vests to Nick, he concluded "So you need to be protected. These vests will stop most rounds, and they're easily wearable beneath your regular uniforms, so you won't draw any more attention than usual."

Taking the protective gear and stuffing it into the duffle bag, Nick's mind drifted back to his time at the Academy. All cadets that passed regular training received an extra instruction session before their final exam. That's where they were introduced to firearms and, for most aspiring officers, the first and last time they'd ever handle them. Other than that only the so called 'Armed Officers' of each department had access to them, just as Gordon had said. In reality, firearms would only ever be used if someone else used them first, since their power and range made pretty much any other ZPD standard-issue weapon borderline useless. They were mostly remnants of a more violent chapter of Zootopia's history.

Judy must have noticed his day-dreaming, because he was suddenly brought back to the present by her tugging lightly at his uniform's sleeve. He awoke to find Gordon had already started towards the vault-like door again. "C'mon Nick, looks like we're leaving."

Adjusting the bag on his shoulder, Nick followed Judy's lead as they went after the Deputy Chief. Just as they were catching up, he stopped by a filling cabinet they had both missed next to the exit and from it produced a small notebook.

Turning back towards the two officers, he handed it to Judy, while explaining "Here's a manual I prepared. In here you'll find instructions on how to set up and use the gear you're carrying, together with a few further recommendations regarding your approach to MR."

Taking the book, Judy flipped through a few pages, immediately noticing some rough sketches of the devices in Nick's duffel bag. Her browsing was interrupted by a last suggestion from Gordon. "In fact I'd also jot down whatever clues Lionheart might provide there. That way you'll end up with a sort of field manual."

Nodding in agreement, the rabbit handed the book to her partner who, after adding it to the collection of supplies in his sac, followed them out of the Armoury and into the small waiting room.

At that point, Gordon turned back and securely locked the door behind them, once again making use of his concealed key, which returned the little compartment to its former unassuming bland look.

Stepping back into the elevator, they began their relatively short trip back to the Precinct's ground floor. It was a quiet ride, though just as the machine's _ding_ signalled their arrival, Gordon snapped his fingers "I almost forgot! When you pass through the reception on your way out, please ask Charlie for the case file on the 'Wallet' case. We can't forget to keep your cover…"

#

As they exited the lift, another spike of guilt started jabbing at Judy. Their priority case was much more important than petty thievery, but it still irked her that they were leaving a crime, no matter how insignificant – relatively speaking – unpunished.

Her desire to better the world in any and every way possible had burned bright within her ever since she could remember. And it's not like she had ever been one of those 'do as I say not as I do' types. Once she got set on becoming a police officer, nothing and no one managed to deter her from her path. But even before she could truly act upon that goal and enlist in the Academy, she was already a force for justice to be reckoned with. Her spat with Gideon was but one of the many incidents she managed to get herself into between starting kindergarten and finishing high-school – much to her parents' dismay. And they were all the result of the over-eager bunny either standing up for someone or trying break up disputes. At one point she garnered the nickname 'the constable', which was soon dropped once her colleagues realized she actually liked it.

Once she had practically bulldozed her way through every obstacle and into the ZPD's ranks, her will to serve and protect _everyone_ , _everywhere_ and _always,_ only grew stronger. And even though her clash and then partnership with Nick and his cynicism did slightly tone down that idealism – it was a trade of sorts, she became a bit more realistic, he became less of a pessimist – her personality's foundations had held strong.

Still, she had at least learned to prioritize – after almost losing a suspect once or twice because some passing misdemeanour caught her eye – so, even though she didn't like it, she managed to put aside her thoughts on the pickpocketing spree for the time being. Speaking of which, she still had something to say to Gordon.

"We will Chief, thank you for the reminder. And, um, Sir?"

"Yes Officer?"

"Thank you so much for all the help you've managed to provide to us. I understand not all of this is exactly regular and – " She was suddenly cut off as the beaver raised a paw, while closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

When he opened them again, Judy couldn't help but notice some sort of longing, perhaps nostalgia, mingled with concern. "Officer Hopps, this case is one of the most important of the last decade. It's also one of the most demanding types of assignments. So it's my pleasure… actually, it's my duty to help you in any way I can.

It also doesn't hurt that all this reminds me a bit of the struggles I had to go through when I took over down here. And _that_ , my fellow officer, is something I don't wish upon anyone."

Judy could feel her heart swell. The dangers of the case, her worry for Nick's safety, they all dissipated for the few moments she spent marvelling at someone with a mind-set so like her own.

"We will do our best Chief." Nick's assurance broke the spell and her concerns sprouted again.

Gordon nodded and saluted them. "I'm counting on it officers. Dismissed!"

Returning the salute, the two younger officers turned back and started towards the main lobby.

#

"Ahem."

While Nick's cough did get Charlie's attention when they approached the reception, as soon as the opossum saw them, he found himself almost falling off his chair. Again.

 _How did this guy become the receptionist down here_ Judy wondered I mean _, Clawhauser can get annoying but he's at least he's chipper and outgoing…_

"Hey Charlie, we've just finished up with the Chief, and he told us, to tell you, to get us the 'Wallet' case file." Nick said, putting on his friendliest expression. _Really want to speed this up, huh slick?_

Clearly still recovering from his daze, the opossum swallowed loudly and coughed. "Oh, uh… yeah! The Chief had me keep it here ready for you." Turning around in his chair he retrieved a file from one of the stacks on the back of the reception and, returning his nervous gaze to the officers before him, presented the documents with a shaky paw.

As he reached for them, Judy could almost see the effort Nick had to put in just to avoid rolling his eyes. "Thanks Charlie! We'll be sure to return these when the case is wrapped up." The fox had already started turning around as he finished. "Well it was nice meeting you, but now we have a thief to catch. Have-a-good-day-bye!"

Saluting her tremendously uncomfortable peer behind the counter and offering him a weak smile, she quickly darted towards the exit, catching up to her partner in a heartbeat. And of course he had already found something to poke her with.

"So, decided to stay behind and learn a bit more about ol'Charlie Carrots?" He teased, smirking but continuing to look ahead.

"Oh shut up. We probably left him dazed for the rest of the morning." She huffed.

#

The walk back to the cruiser was uneventful, both officers having retreated into their own minds.

Nick once again got into the driver's seat and set off into the now-thicker traffic of the Nocturnal District. It was nearing midday, and since the District shared its activity cycle with the surface ones, they also had similar rush hours. Judy found her attention drawn more towards her partner than the still new surroundings.

Nick's usually bulletproof mask behind which he hid all his feelings and emotions had cracked – or rather, shattered – during the talk with Deputy Chief Gordon. And the Nick she had seen then was a fearful, uncertain one. A far cry from the unflappable fox she had known for the last three years. And then he had suddenly gone back to his typical taunts in the blink of an eye. She knew her partner well enough to recognize it as a cover, a backup mask of sorts. Something with which to distract others while he restored his stoicism.

The fact Nick still felt like he needed or that he should try and hide his true self from her did hurt, but at this point Judy was mostly concerned with what she knew was going through his mind. She had been the one to show him it was possible to overcome society's blockades, and she couldn't be prouder of how he'd taken it upon himself to do just that. But the current situation forced him into a torturous dilemma: he could ignore the plight of the ZPD and he'd most likely maintain his image as a changed fox, heck if the MR situation surfaced he'd walk away unscathed given his lack of involvement. However, that safer position would at the same time go against the very image he was trying to protect, and while that would never be known, the trampling of his own ideals would probably eat at him for a very long time. On the other hand, he could act in accordance with his new self and dive head-first into the MR mess, but that would be a one way trip. Once inside, he'd either pull through and keep both his public and personal images – they might even be bolstered a bit – or he'd fail, in which case there were two possible outcomes: being dragged through the dirt of something he had nothing to do with, or ending up six feet _under_ said dirt.

Still, she figured it would be best to leave the matter for the time being. They'd already discussed it thoroughly the day before while at his place. Speaking of his place, she hadn't actually gotten around to asking him about the new picture she'd seen displayed there.

"Hey Nick?"

"Hmm?" He kept his eyes trained on the dimly lit street, but the inquisitive hum and the slight twitch and swivel of his ears assured her he was indeed listening.

"Yesterday I noticed you had put a new picture up on the cupboard."

"Oh? Sorry Carrots, I'm not sure which one you're referring to."

"It showed a pretty unremarkable store front, but the name caught my eye. _Suitopia_ , was it?"

His ears twitched and she could hear his tail swish. "Oh, that… well…" He released a small sigh. "Remember how I said I was once small and emotionally unstable?"

 _How could I forget? You pretty much saved my career that night…_ Judy thought while nodding affirmatively.

"When I said that I was referring to how things got to me when I was a kid, and how my perception of the world changed for the cynical. My dad, on the other hand, well he didn't have to pretend things didn't get to him, they just didn't."

 _OK_ … now they were sailing into uncharted waters. Nick had opened up more about his past over their time as partners and she'd gotten to know Mrs Wilde quite well, but she'd never brought up the matter of Nick's father. Not because she wasn't curious, but rather out of fear. Nick's life had been such a mess that she feared his missing dad had also been a part of it, and she definitely didn't want to dig up any unpleasant memories for him. She had hoped the fox would eventually open up about it, but wouldn't have held it against him if he didn't.

"He faced the exact same problems and prejudice I did, but he never cracked. He was actually a lot like you in that regard." That last statement was followed by a light chuckle, which brought a warm smile to her own muzzle.

"He eventually managed to learn tailoring and found he had a knack for it. He worked in a few stores for a while – which was when he met my mom – but, since he was a fox, he never stayed in one place for too long. He'd just about settle in, and then something would _conveniently_ go missing or the smallest argument would break out…"

Judy could feel her paws start balling into fists, but she remained silent. She'd seen firsthand the prejudice Nick was referring to. Even after their success with the Nighthowlers it wasn't that uncommon for bystanders to throw the occasional slur at her partner or for victims to twist their muzzles when they learned a fox was handling their case… At least until it got solved, and then most of them became quite apologetic.

"Anyway, he eventually got tired of it and decided to do something about it. He sought to open a tailoring shop where any mammal could go to get fitted, regardless of species, size or gender. He worked together with my mom and a close friend and they managed to save up enough to do it. And it's that store that you saw in the picture. Both the culmination of my father's dream and another reminder – besides you, Carrots – that one can actually overcome stereotypes and prejudice if we remain true to ourselves."

At this point her vision was blurring, though she managed to hold the dam with a sniff. Her smile though, was a warm one. Until then, Judy didn't know what to expect from Nick's father, and sometimes assumed the worst. Finding out he was, in many ways, a mammal just like her and Nick – once he put his troubles behind him – was one of the most comforting revelations she could remember receiving.

However, her smile faltered a bit when a doubt popped up in her head. "What happened to the store?" She actually wanted to know what had happened to Mr Wilde but couldn't bring herself to ask directly. Something _must_ have happened since she knew he was already dead – Mrs Wilde had disclosed that much – and she'd never heard anything about the shop.

She did notice Nick's ears falling flat against his head as he answered. "It did surprisingly well, to be honest. It wasn't overflowing with customers, but the ones they had were loyal ones, and since it was a pretty small store to begin with, that was, for the most part enough… But…"

He took a deep breath before continuing and eventually a grimace settled on his muzzle. "There was a… a fire. I think I was six or maybe seven at the time."

For a couple of seconds Judy's mind went blank, though the rest of her body did a pretty good job of conveying the horror she felt. Her ears drooped like they were made of lead; her eyes grew as wide as dinner plates, with their usual purple shine fading a bit; and both her paws covered her mouth.

When she managed to form words again, she could only ask a question she feared she already knew the answer to. "Was… was anyone inside?"

"…My dad was closing up for the day. He didn't get out in time."

Whatever hope Judy had of lightening the mood by bringing up the photo had long since disappeared, but the shock was very much present.

A lot of things made more sense to her now: why Nick had said his mom had needed to 'scrape together enough money' for the ranger scout's costume – they'd lost everything only a couple of years before – why Nick said he was emotionally unstable – perhaps he wasn't just teasing her, but rather admitting how frail his mind was at the time – and why he never talked about his dad – he'd managed to reach his goal, only to have it snuffed by fate, after overcoming countless hurdles.

"I had actually forgotten about that photo and only found it by accident while I was cleaning my old trunk. I figured I was finally able to have it displayed without insulting my dad's memory… you know, given what I did then and do now…"

"Good timing huh… I put the picture up and now it turns out I have to go back to being a dirtbag." He shot her a grin with that last comment, but Judy swore she could see gleaming trails forming along his eyes and muzzle. Any other time, she would have probably scolded him. Then and there however, she simply moved her paw over his own, both resting on the gear stick.

Whatever happened during this case, one thing was becoming apparent. Nick would change as a result of it. And so would their partnership. As far as how those changes panned out and what they resulted in, she could only hope for the best as their cruiser rolled out of the darkness of the Nocturnal District's access tunnel and into the bright streets of the surface Zootopia.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **F**

 **I**

 **N**

 **A**

 **L**

 **L**

 **Y**

 **I am so sorry for this hiatus, but a lot of stuff got in the way of this story (including itself to be honest). But it's back!**

 **Now, this was supposed to be IFF's last part, but it was getting too big, so the next chapter will conclude the IFF section.**

 **AN IMPORTANT NOTICE: thank you to Combat Engineer for pointing out a contradiction in the organization and hierarchy of the ZPD in this story. The issue had to do with the role and power of other precinct heads and the existence of a mammal in a position above that of Bogo. With Engineer and Euphoneme's help I've managed to correct the issue without having to mess with the plot's structure (thank God). Basically, Bogo is the Chief of Police over all of Zootopia, while each Precinct has a Deputy Chief in charge. Bogo has operational control over all Precincts and officers, but has limited powers as far as the Internal Affairs of other Precincts are concerned. For that and serving as a liaison between the ZPD and city Hall there is the Commissioner, who is a councilmammal in the latter. He is technically above Bogo, but his position is dependent on the political situation. I'll be correcting the earlier chapters soon.**

 **Also, I guess I went into a hot topic with guns in Zootopia, but I hope my setting for them is satisfying. The story can work without them, but they do make it easier.**

 **As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, questions or just want to hit me over the internet for these delays (which I deserve), feel free to PM me or leave a review. They're highly appreciated! :D**

 **Cheers!**


	7. Ch7 - IFF Pt3

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

Extra credit goes to Euphonemes who is now helping me by Beta Reading these chapters. He's being extremely helpful in this learning experience for me and his own fic Run definitely deserves a careful read.

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – IFF Pt 3**

 _IFF = Identification Friend or Foe, technique which, with the proper equipment allows identification of a target as friendly but not as hostile. If the system gets a valid response from the target it can be confirmed as friendly, but an invalid or non-existent reply does NOT positively confirm it as hostile._

It wasn't the first time Nick and Judy found themselves arriving at Zootopia's Penitentiary. Whether delivering a new convict or getting one to turn on their buddies, Nick and Judy (really, any other ZPD officer) would usually visit the detention facility once or twice a year.

Though no matter how many times they went there, the prison's eerie and out of place look always managed to make them somewhat uncomfortable. It's not that a building like that was out of place deep in Tundra Town's Tundra Plains; rather, it was so different from any of the usual buildings found throughout the city, regardless of District. The Penitentiary simply felt like something out of this world. _Kind of like Cliffside Asylum_ , Nick thought, _although_ _at least_ _that_ _thing had an architecture in line with the rest of Zootopia._

The prison in question was an imposing monolith of concrete and steel that stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the flat icy wastelands that were the Tundra Plains. The massive frozen desert was essentially the buffer zone between Tundra Town's residential areas and the district wall separating it from Sahara Square. It was also home to many of the district's weather control and manipulation stations, ensuring an even _chillier_ average temperature.

That along with its natural features from before the city was even built – the ground had a surface as smooth as the ZPD's lobby floor and not a single shelter from the elements for a good few miles in any direction – made the region one of the most inhospitable in the city. Consequently, it made for an ideal venue for its prison complex. Even artic mammals would struggle without some kind of protection.

The edifice itself was little more than a fifty foot tall cubic fortress surrounded by an additional outer wall some twenty feet in height. Connecting the facility with the rest of the city was a single road guarded by the prison's guard station at its entrance as well as a checkpoint a mile or so from the edge of the Plains.

Once Nick and Judy had been cleared and allowed to pass that first line of defense, the bunny found herself lost in thought, unfazed even by the irregular twists and turns of the prison's access road. She couldn't help it, as the mere existence of their destination somewhat clashed with Zootopia's underlying ideas.

It was true that stereotyping and prejudice were still present, but the initial utopia that had spurred on the city's founders had been achieved: dozens of mammal species lived, worked and got along – for the most part – in one big metropolis. And even the issues that had ultimately resulted in the Nighthowler Incident were slowly receding into oblivion. So why would a city built out of the longing for comradery and peaceful interaction still find itself in need of a detention facility?

Judy might have been an optimist at heart, but she was also no fool. While Zootopia was on the right path – and she would see to it that things were kept that way – the city was still far from perfect. Crime was still a thing, one which might thrive on hate and fear, but can still exist in their absence. So, despite the ideals and goals behind it, Zootopia still found itself in need of a place which had a single purpose: to punish. And while Judy would cheer on the day when Zootopia's Penitentiary no longer had reason to exist, today it held someone who could help her in eventually reaching that goal.

She was brought back into reality as she noticed the ride growing less and less bumpy, and, looking up through the windshield, Judy found herself finally approaching the ominous gate.

#

Rolling up to it, Nick brought the cruiser to a halt, stopping in between the pair of armed guards standing watch. Another aspect that turned a trip to Zootopia's Penitentiary into a surreal experience was the sight of the guards found protecting the gates and standing watch along the outer wall. They were clad in snow-white overcoats so thick they almost doubled the size of the animal wearing them, with their faces sheathed in white mouthless balaclavas and their eyes shielded by orange anti-dazzle goggles; all told, they certainly made for an imposing sight.

Once the police vehicle was safely stopped at the prison's gate and flanked by both armed guards, a third mammal exited the booth in the middle of the road, wearing the same overcoat as his peers but lacking the face protection. Though it should be said his thick ear-covering cap was still terrifying as he approached the cruiser.

As soon as Nick lowered the window to greet the approaching mammal, his muzzle was itself greeted with an unpleasantly rude gust from the blizzard that raged almost continuously in the Tundra Plains. As he instinctively grimaced and his tail instinctively shot up to cover his lip, he could also hear the pained complaints of his partner, who was, fur-wise, even less protected than him.

"Good morning officers," the guard – which turned out to be a wolf – said, resting a hand above the cruiser's window. "What brings you out here today?"

Not wanting to prolong his or his partner's suffering any longer than necessary, Nick made every effort possible to shorten the little meet-and-greet. "Good morning yourself. We have an interview scheduled with a convict in about twenty minutes."

Nodding – as much as his gear permitted – in response, the wolf made the usual requests. "Ok, I've already logged your cruiser, so now I'll need your police IDs for a minute. In the meantime, my colleagues will do a quick check of the vehicle."

Anticipating this, both fox and rabbit had already readied their ZPD identification cards on the center console, which Nick handed to the guard, closing the window as soon as the latter removed his paw.

As the wolf returned to his booth to check their credentials, the other two guards pulled out a pair of telescopic mirrors and began circling the cruiser to check its underside. When one reached the trunk he banged on it; Nick unlocked it. Seemingly satisfied, said guard closed the compartment back up and gave the officers a thumbs up, immediately returning to his post alongside his peer to the side of the gate.

In the meantime, the wolf had returned with their ID cards, which Nick took through the window – much to his discomfort.

"Alright, you're good. Once you've parked, head up to the reception and check in. Have a good day, officers."

Offering a quick two-fingered salute, Nick quickly rolled the window back up and went through the now open gate into the Penitentiary's courtyard and then into the – fortunately – heated underground visitor's parking.

Having parked the cruiser in the closest spot they could find to the entrance, he turned around to see Judy move to exit the vehicle, paw already on the door handle.

"Carrots: wait," he called, gently grabbing her by the shoulder.

Turning back towards her partner, the rabbit limited herself to an inquisitive hum. Nick could still see some worry in her wide eyes, which he attributed to the conversation they'd had on their way there. While it hadn't been exactly easy or pleasant, the tod knew the subject would come up eventually, so he just took the opportunity his partner unknowingly presented. And, if he was to be honest with himself, regardless of the risks their case entailed, knowing that his current path was one that would make his father proud was both pleasant and motivating.

Releasing the bunny's shoulder, Nick explained. "Before we go in there, there's something I'd like to let you know… regarding the talk we're going to have with ol' Main Mane."

Smiling at the nickname, Judy spurred him on. "Alright slick, what is it?"

"When I talked with Bogo two days ago, and now when we chatted with Gordon, both referred to Lionheart as more than just a convict. Heck, I'd even say as more than an acquaintance."

Noticing Judy's rising eyebrow, the fox took to clarifying. "You weren't there, but when Bogo mentioned the former mayor, it seemed he was talking about a long lost friend. He sounded sad about the lion's imprisonment. And now, Gordon mentioned how he and _other prominent ZPD figures_ worked with Lionheart against corruption. Not to mention, the Deputy Chief called him a 'victim' of the Nighthowlers."

"Huh, that's pretty observant Nick…" Grinning for a moment, Judy couldn't help but comment. "I told you you'd make a pretty good cop…." He responded with a wink and a click of his tongue. The rabbit was quick to get back on topic however. "So you think Bogo, Gordon and Lionheart are connected in a way?"

Humming affirmatively, the fox concluded, "Yeah, probably from even before they got to the high – well at least for two of them now – positions they're in now."

"So what do you think we should do about it? If anything."

Scratching his ear, the fox replied. "Well, the way I see it, since Lionheart _did_ go to prison for his _spectacular_ handling of the first Nighthowler cases, I don't think there's any foul play going on here. But…" His expression grew serious again. "It's still a connection we can't ignore. So I say we try to get Lionheart to spill it for us and, if he doesn't, we'll just have to bring it up with Bogo later today."

Tilting her head back in thought, Judy replied, "That sounds like a plan… but why not go to Bogo directly?"

Pointing in no particular direction, Nick explained. "We could, but my guess is that he isn't particularly at ease with whatever relationship the three share. I mean: Why else wouldn't he have told us to come here? It is the most logical way to find out about the inner workings of City Hall after all."

"Fair point." Turning to face her partner, the rabbit added. "So, who leads?"

Nick smirked as he popped open the door. "Weren't you the one who arrested him in the first place? I'm sure he's dying to speak to you first, Carrots…"

As she made her own way out of the vehicle, Judy winced at the memory. "Hhhngh… right. Let's hope he's not _too_ peeved about that…."

#

Given the alien look of the prison from the outside, first time visitors usually found the reception area that greeted visitors and workers alike rather comforting. Climate control aside, the soft beige walls, moderately clean vinyl floor and squeaky cushioned wooden benches made said reception's waiting room feel rather quaint and, well, safe.

Even the prison workers in charge of visitors and staff added to the unassuming look of that portion of the Penitentiary. After all, they were little more than regular paper pushers, a lot like the mammals you'd find at the DMV (if sloths didn't monopolize that particular institution…).

It was one of these workers – a female ferret with a coat as white as the snow outside – that greeted Judy and Nick when they approached the reception counter.

"Good morning, officers! How may I help you?"

Eager as ever to get to work, Judy took the initiative. "Hi ma'am! We have a meeting scheduled with one of the inmates. Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde?"

Lowering her gaze to the computer under the counter, the ferret nodded. "Uhuh… and the convict would be?"

"Leodore Lionheart."

After a few clicks the receptionist looked at the two officers once more. "Very well, I've found your appointment, and it looks like you're right on time." She pointed towards the benches. "Please have a seat. Once the interview room is ready, we'll call you."

Thanking her, Judy did as suggested and, with Nick in tow, proceeded to the waiting area. Once they were seated, the rabbit took to taking in her surroundings. She found the room to be mostly empty, save for a janitor making his rounds and a deer with what Judy assumed to be her son. The lack of mammal presence wasn't too odd though, since regular visiting hours were right after breakfast and right before dinner, meaning they had arrived at their lowest point throughout the day.

What did catch Judy's attention, however, was the fawn. He was sleeping, with his head resting comfortably on the doe's lap; yet, he clung to something in his hooves as if his life depended on it. Paying closer attention, Judy noticed it was a small transparent container, the contents of which nearly brought a tear to her eye: it was some sort of fruit cake, with a pair of candles sitting next to it.

As she turned to her partner to comment on it, she found Nick already looking at her rather sadly, his usually vibrant jade eyes dulled. When she made a motion to show him the scene, he gently grabbed her rising paw and brought it back down to her lap, all the while nodding in comprehension.

"I know, Carrots. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time," he practically whispered.

"But why are they here right now? Morning visiting hours are already over…."

"If a convict shows good behavior, one of the perks he can get are specially arranged visits on some important dates." He glanced at mother and son and sighed. "Like birthdays."

She wasn't aware of that… and yet, she'd studied pretty much every rule and regulation available at the Academy's library. So how did Nick know it? Her confusion must have been apparent, as her partner was quick to explain.

"I know because my uncle on my dad's side spent a few years here, and my mom and I used to do the exact same thing."

Clamping her mouth shut, Judy once again glanced over at the pair, only to have her ears droop instantly. She was still a firm believer in the necessity to apply justice and accept consequences regardless of the circumstances, but she couldn't deny that those consequences could have a profound and not necessarily fair impact on those around the subject in question…

Right there and then she found herself replacing the fawn with young Nick in her mind, imagining him peacefully asleep in Mrs Wilde's lap, cradling some blueberry cake in his paws most likely.

"Was that before or after… you know…."

"My uncle took my dad's death as hard as us, and unfortunately he eventually resorted to drowning his sorrows in as much cheap liquor as he could get his paws on."

Bending over and joining his own paws on his knees, the fox continued. "A few months after the shop burned down he got into a scuffle and ended up hitting a cop in the commotion, which was why he got five years instead of community service.

"Back then I was still too young to fully understand what he'd done and, to be fair to him, he was always cautious to be sober around me… So I really don't have bad memories of him, I was just sad I could only be with my uncle every few days.

"He was as close to a father figure I had back then afterall."

However, Nick's reminiscing suddenly came to a halt when the ferret called, "Officers? We're ready for you now."

Giving a quick sniff and cough to clear her mood, Judy quickly shot up from her seat and bounded to the reception desk. By the time Nick got up, the rabbit was already face to face with the smaller mammal.

Motioning to a wolf standing between a thick cage bar door and a set of lockers, the receptionist explained. "That guard will escort you to the interview room and then back here once your discussion with the inmate ends."

Humming affirmatively, Judy turned around only to almost slam into Nick, who had caught up in the meantime. "Come on partner, we're up," she said, circling him while giving his forearm a comforting squeeze.

When both rabbit and fox got to the door that led deeper into the prison, they were stopped by the canine guard, who produced a body scanner from one of his belt's pouches and opened a couple of the lockers beside him.

"Please remove any metallic objects and place them in one of these. After that, please stand straight with your arms away from your bodies so I can scan you."

They obliged and proceeded to remove all the metal from themselves, storing the equipment safely in the lockers — though it should be said it was particularly difficult for Judy to part ways with her badge. Having already turned it in once after she felt she had failed the city, she couldn't help but recall that mighty unpleasant memory….

Once that was done, the wolf scanned the both of them, paying close attention to the beeps and wails of the machine in his paw.

Seemingly satisfied with the results, the guard once again holstered the device and retrieved a set of keys from another pocket in his belt. He opened the heavy door with one of them and motioned for the officers to follow him.

Once they were all beyond the threshold, the wolf locked the door back up and began leading Nick and Judy through a long corridor, at the end of which they came to a halt in front of another cage bar door.

This time, the canid looked at the camera overlooking the entrance, presented his ID card and gave a thumbs up. There was a loud buzz followed by the door's lock unlatching.

Once again closing the door behind them, the guard finally led them through a series of doors, all of them labeled 'Interview' followed by a number. Stopping in front of the door numbered twelve, the wolf turned to face the officers and explained. "You have thirty minutes to conduct your business. Should you wish to finish before then, simply call or knock on the door." When Nick and Judy nodded, he opened the room, allowing them inside and closing it behind them.

The small cubicle was actually a lot like their interrogation rooms back at Precinct One, only lacking the two-way mirror on one of its walls. There was a simple steel table with three chairs of the same material set up for them. But what Judy took immediate notice of was a small folded piece of paper on top of the table.

As they sat down, the rabbit picked the note up and opened it, her eyes immediately widening in surprise.

"Nick! Look at this…" She lightly elbowed him, effectively getting his attention.

The note had been clearly scribbled hastily, and read: 'The room's camera and microphone are off, and the guards outside it are friends. ~ Courtesy of C.G.'.

They didn't have time to dwell on it too much, however, as the door opposite from the one they had gone through suddenly opened and the reason for their presence there was brought forth in chains by a rhino guard.

Prison had certainly done a number on the middle-aged lion, at least as far as his appearance was concerned. His once gloriously lush and glossy mane was shorter and what little shine it still had was more oily than lustrous. He'd definitely lost weight, and with it a lot of his imposing figure, even if he was still of rather high stature. And his fur was overall messy, with some matted areas and other ruffled ones.

And yet… once the former mayor was seated and his restraints lessened to a pair of paw and foot cuffs, Judy couldn't help but notice how the lion's hazel eyes held the same intensity and pride she'd first seen at her graduation and then during his interrogation.

Lionheart himself probably hadn't noticed exactly _who_ had come to visit him, since he suddenly straightened his back and his eyes widened as soon as they rested on Judy's form. Somehow, he quickly composed himself, relaxing into the uncomfortable metal chair and adopting the easy-going smile that had been his trademark since his first campaign several years back.

"Well well well… if it isn't the pride of the ZPD, Officer Judy Hopps," he stated, as if once again presenting her to an excited crowd. "And her now inseparable side-kick Officer Nick Wilde." His intense gaze switched to the fox. "It' good to see that not all of the things I did as mayor were torn down. And that the ZPD gained another peculiar character as a result of it." He wore a wide grin.

After the Nighthowler case had wrapped up and Nick's deal with the law brokered Judy just wanted the fox as her partner once more, and this time with an actual badge rather than a children's sticker. She didn't really care exactly how his admission to the Academy was handled. It was only later that she found out Nick had actually been admitted to the Academy as a beneficiary of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative just like her.

With a certain posture that betrayed his past in high-end politics, the lion crossed his legs and joined his paws over the raised knee, adopting an almost philosophical stance. "So what brings the masterminds behind my downfall here after all this time?"

Growing flustered by the former mayor's mention of the arrest she made, Judy quickly tried to defuse the tension she thought was building. "Mr. Lionheart, please! I know you meant well back then, even if you did act wrongly… but we really need your help and – " The lion's guffaws cut her short.

Startled by the sudden display of glee, Judy couldn't repress a nervous twitch of her nose nor prevent her ears from gluing themselves to the back of her skull. Quickly glancing over to her partner for a clue as to what had just happened, she was met with a quick shrug of his shoulders, together with a face that pretty much read: _This is your show_ _, F_ _luff_.

Fortunately, the lion had managed to calm down in the meantime, and was finally able to express himself normally. "Oh I'm sorry officers, but we don't really get all that many opportunities to laugh like that in this fine establishment…" he said, still huffing slightly and wiping a tear from his eye.

Mouth hanging slightly open, Judy eventually managed a question. "So… you're not… angry or aghast with us, sir?"

Adopting a more familiar tone – maybe even a bit condescending – Lionheart was quick to put those doubts aside. "Judy, I can still call you Judy right?" Without even waiting for a nod he pressed on. "Yes, my accommodations are unpleasant. Yes, I do feel like what I did three years ago was for the best. And, to be completely honest, I was at first a little surprised to see the cop whose career I had helped the most arrest me without even a second of hesitation." Judy's chuckle was a nervous one, but the former mayor's was actually amused in nature. "But alas, that's exactly what you signed up for: to put those who disobey the law in jail. And while I still stand by what I did, I'm not enough of a hypocrite to even suggest that my actions were wholly righteous or unpunishable."

Pleasant as it was to hear, such a wholehearted and enlightened response did elicit curious stares from both officers. After all, even putting aside the Nighthowler debacle, the former mayor's general posture had always been one of aloofness.

The lion seemed to guess what their confusion stemmed from, as he began to explain, "I know I might not have looked it, but I did truly care about _everything_ that happened in our city. Even if my last decisions turned out not to be the best…" He finished, scratching the back of his neck.

Feeling more at ease, Judy decided to ask, "But then why make it look like it was all the same to you? Wouldn't the people have grown to like you even more if you showed true interest in the various plights of everyday mammals?"

That got a chuckle out of the lion, though his face quickly adopted a sterner expression. "Judy, for the most part, mammals tend to care more about results than postures… and, to be honest, my lackadaisical attitude wasn't so much a show for the public, but rather for my peers at City Hall."

Noticing how both officer's eyes widened in sync, he took to developing the idea further. "In the end the mayor is little more than the face of the established government. He has the power to have the last word on any matter pertaining to how the city is run, but he rarely uses it. In truth, it's the councilmammals that sit behind the mayor who truly call the shots. Unless you manage to sway them your own way..."

"And how would acting like a happy fool help you get your way?" This time it was Nick doing the asking.

"It makes you look like less of a threat. It makes others lower their guard and think you're nothing but a pretty face, allowing you to start planting ideas into their heads which they would have never even considered hearing in the first place." At this point the lion's smile had evolved into a toothy grin and his eyes had become half closed. The aloof former mayor began to look like a seasoned hunter.

Not wanting to waste time and sensing an opportunity to steer the conversation in the path they required, Judy quickly jumped in. "Funny you should mention that, because we actually came here today in the hopes that you might shed some light for us on the inner workings of City Hall." She said, placing the notepad Gordon had given them and her carrot pen on the table.

Raising a single eyebrow, the older mammal replied. "Oh? And what would Gordon need to know that I haven't already told him about?"

Judy suddenly sat straight up in her chair, ears shooting up in full alert as she was taken aback by what the lion had said. "How do you know who sent us here?" Sparing a quick glance towards her partner, Judy noticed how he was also surprised, but seemed to have only grown more attentive as a result.

Looking around the small room the lion explained. "Well, we're talking in room _twelve_ even though none of the other ones are being used, I was brought in here from my cell by Ross, and that looks a lot like ol' Castor's handwriting."

"So you do know him…" Nick chimed in.

"Well of course I do!" Lionheart stated naturally. "We went to High School together."

Judy could see a hint of a smirk tugging at the fox's lips. "Anyone else of importance you might have gone to school with? Say… ten foot six, sixteen hundred pounds, great motivational speeches…?"

To his credit, Lionheart only looked surprised for a split second, before once again breaking into roaring laughter. "BWAHAHAHA… Oh dear… Yes Chief Bogo was also there. And since we're on the subject, so was Quinn."

"The current Commissioner?" Judy asked.

Nodding affirmatively the lion slumped in his chair and began staring longingly. "We were quite the posse… A lion, a buffalo, a zebra and a beaver… We certainly got a few odd looks during lunch breaks, though we did get famous in other ways back then."

"How so?"

"Ah... We were known as the 'Helpful Hand of Four'. You see one of the main reasons the four of us got along so well was our shared will to help and better the world around us, and we didn't wait for college to start doing exactly that!

"Back then, if you had a problem with a bully Bogo and Gordon would be only too happy to _dissuade_ him. If someone was being treated unfairly by a teacher, I'd try to establish some peace talks so to say. And Quinn, well he did a bit of everything."

Now understanding the situation better, the rabbit officer began thinking aloud. "So when the time came to choose your jobs and future – "

The lion nodded. "We basically kept doing what we did since High School, only we started getting paid for it."

"So why did you and Quinn choose politics over law enforcement?"

"As far as the Commissioner is concerned, he didn't have a clear idea of what he wanted to do, so he compromised and went for the part of the government _responsible_ of law enforcement. As for me? I thought I'd be able to enact some _real_ change rather than respond to whatever emergencies popped up. Given enough time I might have actually succeeded in that…" He sighed but smiled up at the young officers before him. "But, like I said earlier, at least I managed to pave the way for you two and others like you to have _some_ chances at least."

Quickly looking at Nick, Judy found the fox had also turned to face her and they exchanged warm smiles. Had it not have been for the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, neither of them would be in the ZPD. Heck they would probably never have even met!

"But I was under the impression you wanted to know more about City Hall, not my friendship with your superiors…" Lionheart stated, drawing them both back to the moment at hand.

Opening the notebook on a new page and readying the pen, Judy began. "That is correct Mr Lionheart. So let's start with the basics: you said the real power is wielded by the councilmammals at City Hall, rather than the mayor himself. Now, we can easily get their list and what each of them does, but what is the power balance between them?"

Raising a single eyebrow, the former mayor began exploring the subject. "Huh, interesting question… If things haven't changed too much since my term, then there should be three top dogs: the counclimammals responsible for Budget, Law Enforcement, and Strategic Partnerships. Since those three control the money, the police and the influences of both public and private institutions within the city, they could set its main course.

As Judy began jotting down the lion's description she was careful to include reminders to look deeper into the functions of each of those sections of City Hall. In the meantime Nick picked up where she'd left off. "And how exactly could those influences be used to further any given _personal_ goal?"

"Well they can fund or blockade any projects or ideas that they please, the ZPD can be given instructions as to what cases to prioritize, and finally they can easily instate or remove any outside influence by privileging certain companies or institutions… Officers what the heck is going on here?!"

Ignoring the former mayor's question Judy charged in once more. "And how could deals be brokered to accomplish goals such as those?"

Managing to focus on the question for a moment, Lionheart bluted out, "Most of the political cream of this city restricts itself to certain venues… In every regard: they always eat at the same places, they always have fun at the same places… Wait, for the love of God STOP." The lion put his hands as widely as he could on the table – given his restraints – and leaned up and into the two smaller mammals. "What is going on in my city?!"

Closing the notebook and storing both it and the carrot pen in her pocket – for lack of her utility belt – Judy got up and extended her paw to the lion. "We can't share details of an ongoing investigation Mr Lionheart. But we thank you for your time and cooperation."

Slightly flabbergasted, the lion took the offered paw and shook it meekly. Meanwhile Nick had also goten up and had approached the door the two officers had entered through. Standing next to it, he offered the former mayor a two fingered salute and added, "We really can't say more, but if you remember anything else that might be useful to know about City Hall, please call for us... _Specifically us_."

Knocking on the door, the wolf that had led Nick and Judy there was quick to open it for them, allowing them to pass before starting to close it behind him.

"Wait!" The lion's beg made them all freeze in place. "There's a favor I'd like to ask of you, Officers."

Looking at each other for a moment, they exchanged knowing hums and turned back to the former mayor. "What would that be, Mr Lionheart?" Judy inquired.

Sitting back down on the cold uncomfortable chair, he answered. "Please tell Bogo I'm sorry."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well this was certainly a fun chapter to write. Lionheart is such a goldmine of a character… Thought the ending might be revised at some point.**

 **Next chapter things finally get moving in the investigation, so stay tuned for that (I'll do something like last week, as soon as I have an idea of when Ch8 will be up, I'll post an update on it).**

 **In the meantime, let me know what you think of the story so far. It's awesome reading your thoughts and ideas on it :D**

 **Cheers!**


	8. Ch8 - Carrots, Crickets and Crooks

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

Extra credit goes to Euphonemes who is now helping me by Beta Reading these chapters. He's being extremely helpful in this learning experience for me and his own fic **Run** definitely deserves a careful read.

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - Carrots, Crickets and Crooks**

Having recovered their gear and dealt with the surprisingly light paperwork following their interview with former mayor Lionheart – another thing Gordon probably had had a hand in – Nick and Judy made their way back to Savannah Central and then Downtown, with the intention of providing their Chief with a preliminary briefing on both their findings and their current plan of action.

Of course that meant _having_ a plan to begin with… Judy had been faced with such an overwhelming amount of information in the previous three hours – both on the case and on her partner and friend – that she was still trying to wrap her head around it all, let alone construct a sensible course of action based upon it.

And while Nick only had to deal with half of that, his slightly scrunched brow and his ears that had been held at attention since they'd left the Penitentiary told her that he must have been trying to make sense of it all as well.

Eventually, they arrived back at the Precinct's motor pool, but unanimously decided that they should discuss their current situation over lunch before actually meeting with their superior. The lunch part might have been more of a demand by their stomachs than anything else… 1 p.m. had already come and gone after all.

Of the many advantages ZPD's Precinct One possessed over other stations, its central position within both the city and its own district was definitely one of the biggest. Not only did it make public commuting easier, it also meant that the officers stationed there had access to everything they could ever need or want with just a short walk. This included several diners and coffee shops, most of which catered to predators and prey alike. These were Nick and Judy's favorites; they could spend their lunch breaks together. Lunch breaks were sacred, too: when they were on patrol, they ate in the cruiser, so time to sit down together for a calm, normal meal was really something special.

After the Nighthowler debacle, Judy had actually been a little surprised to find that, in the city's very center, predators and prey shared their meals without even a second thought. Sure, while the savage threat had loomed over everyone's heads, a few wary glances were always sent towards the former, but that was about it. Judy had felt pride in the city's ability to leave behind such a damaging event, until Nick reminded her of how different from the rest of the districts Savannah Central actually was.

It was both the political and economic center of the city, which meant that, since time immemorial, all kinds of mammals coexisted and even cooperated towards common goals there. In the end, the vast majority of those who lived or simply worked in the central district had much milder views on inter-species relations, if nothing else, just because they were used to them. So it really was a special case within Zootopia.

At the time, that had dampened her mood. _But_ , she reasoned, _if one District can do it, why shouldn't the others be able to as well?_ And that thought only spurred her on even further on her quest to better the city as a whole.

But all of that was years ago; right now, Judy was more concerned with choosing between lettuce and arugula as her salad's base, much to her partner's despair.

"C'mon Carrots… What difference does a few shades of green make anyway?"

Not even bothering to look back at the meddling fox, she kept her eyes focused on the pictures of different salads above the diner's counter and shot back.

"Just because you eat the same thing every day doesn't mean I have to. In fact, you should try to expand your diet."

While Judy couldn't see her partner's facial expression, the unamused snort which preceded his reply allowed her to paint a pretty clear picture in her mind.

"I'm a simple fox. I find something I like, and I stick with it."

That made something click in Judy's mind. _Oh, you walked right into this one Mr. Wilde…_

"Is that why you're still my partner after all this time?" Judy quipped, turning her head just enough to look at him while giving a coy smile.

The effects were immediate, if short lived: First, his ears perked to full alert and began twitching furiously, followed almost instantaneously by his tail shooting out with every individual strand of fur standing straight up, and finally, while he didn't actually look at her directly, his vibrant green eyes widened just a fraction, but enough for the bunny to know she'd caught him.

Of course she should've expected he wouldn't take her teasing lying down… And, once he recovered his composure – rather quickly all things considered – he immediately went on the offensive.

"Eh, I suppose your company isn't all that bad… but I think you should be more concerned with the waiter's feelings rather than mine: he's still waiting on you ya know." His usual smirk once again adorned his muzzle.

Whipping her head back towards the diner's counter, Judy verified that the yak waiter was indeed still looking at her expectantly, if a little more impatiently now. _Oh sweet cheese and crackers…_ "Oh right! Sorry…" She quickly blurted out. "I'll have a lettuce based salad with boiled carrots, some green beans and daisies on top."

"And to drink?" the horned mammal asked as he typed her order into the computer.

"Just water, thank you."

"Uh-huh… That'll be seven ninety nine," the waiter concluded with what Judy could only describe as an almost rehearsed disinterest.

Having paid for her meal, both officers moved further along the counter where they would collect their meals – Nick had already ordered and payed for his before Judy. While they waited, and trying to ignore her partner's still smug expression, Judy took to looking around the venue for their lunch.

The diner they had chosen ("ended up at" would be more accurate, given how they had just gone for the closest one) was _The Stumbling Sabrecat_. It belonged to Officer Delgato's brother – hence the feline name – which meant it was one of the ZPD's preferred watering holes. Not so much during week days, but on weekends one could always find a group of off-duty cops from Precinct One hanging out there.

It wasn't flashy or otherwise visually appealing, instead focusing on providing the patrons with a homey kind of comfort, both through how it was internally arranged and thanks to its simple but fulfilling meals. The diner was actually divided into three sections: there was a more formal dining room for ceremonies or larger group meals, a buffet area where mammals could pay a fixed fee and then feast to their heart's (or stomach's) content, and – where Nick and Judy were now waiting for their courses – a main eating area where patrons could eat sitting at the counter, on regular tables or, for a bit more privacy, in booths.

Given the subject of their discussion, the two mammals opted for the latter solution and, once they'd collected their respective meals, went over to an empty booth more towards the corner of the eating area, where it'd be easier to talk in peace.

Having sat down and indulged their stomachs enough in their respective food courses – Judy with her copious salad and Nick with his usual roasted crickets with a side of scrambled eggs – they finally felt sated enough to go over all that they'd gathered regarding the MR case until then, and how they should proceed from that point on. For once, it was actually Nick who took the initiative.

"So, back in Precinct Twelve during our talk with Gordon, you said you had an idea of who the go-to mammal might be in our precinct. Who'd you have in mind?"

Taking a swig of water, Judy explained. "Well, I was actually thinking of Howlson."

"Who, Patrick?" After she confirmed with a nod, he inquired further. "Huh, wouldn't have been my first pick… I mean, he's just a regular beat cop. How did you land on him?"

"Well, for starters, being a beat cop isn't necessarily a disadvantage: you have more freedom while on the streets and nobody really pays too much attention to you within the precinct. As for why him in particular, it's something Snarloff mentioned the other day… We were talking about the usual paperwork we have to deal with weekly – "

"Of course you were…" Nick interrupted while nonchalantly popping a cricket into his mouth.

Directing her intense glare towards the fox, she continued. "As I was saying, Snarloff told me that if I ever needed tips or help regarding the paperwork, I should go to Patrick. He even told me about a time he slipped up while filling an arrest report and how Patrick somehow managed to get it back before it was processed. That would require him to know a few well-placed mammals within the Precinct…"

"And I'm guessing Howlson didn't exactly do that for free."

"No, and that's what made me think about him: Snarloff also said that he'd eventually asked him a small favor in return, some info on a perp he'd brought in. Now, these little favors might not seem like much, but they potentially allow Patrick to get pretty much any tidbit of information or leverage he wants."

"Yeah, I see what you're trying to get at… Well, guess it's high-time I asked him for a favor of my own."

Raising an eyebrow as she finished off the remains of her green beans, Judy asked, "Why? Shouldn't you start misbehaving before approaching him?"

"Yes and no, Carrots. For a favor that might make me truly indebted to him and MR: Yes, I still need to work on tarnishing my reputation, but we don't actually know if he is their contact, do we? All we have is your suspicion."

Judy's ears started drooping as a frown began to form on her face. "Oh… No we don't have any certainties, you're right."

Apparently, Nick had already found a workaround. "Now, now, Fluff, don't go all glum on me." He planted a confident smile on his muzzle. "That's why I'll be asking for a favor now. First off, it'd be a bit suspicious if I just asked him to cover for my tail out of the blue, so asking for something smaller first is a safer bet; second, I'll bet that he'll ask for some info on my old hustling contacts in exchange for whatever I ask of him."

"How do you know?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Nick explained. "They were always a pretty secretive lot. When you depend on fooling and tricking mammals for a living, the less anyone actually knows about you the better. So, if he's with MR, he'll probably see me as a golden opportunity to learn more about the hustling community."

In the meantime, Judy had slowly returned to her regular beaming expression. "And that way we can confirm if he's actually their front man! Nick, that's genius."

"Thank you, thank you." He said, folding his arm and giving a mock bow. "I'll be here all week."

Rolling her eyes, Judy pushed the conversation onwards. "Okay slick, that's enough showboating. So we know how to approach MR's contact, but what about our individual roles?"

"You mean, how will you go about investigating City Hall?"

"Yes, and how'll you go about… getting a bad reputation."

Taking a deep breath, and letting his previously smiling muzzle settle into a joyless line, he explained. "I won't give you the details, because you need to be as surprised as everybody else for them not to suspect anything." As she nodded in agreement, he continued. "In short, there are three main aspects of my persona that need to change: one, how I approach perps, two, how I approach our colleagues; and three, what I do off-duty."

"I'm guessing I won't exactly like any of those changes, huh?" Judy replied, her expression once again sullen.

"Fraid not fluff. Sorry."

"No Nick, don't apologize." She said, shaking her head. "You need to be convincing if we're going to pull this off, so don't hold back." _And I'll be right beside you no matter what_ , she concluded in her head.

And the small smile he managed to muster only strengthened her resolve. "Thanks for trusting me, Carrots." Taking another breath in, he continued. "And what about investigating City Hall?"

"About that… "Judy said, bringing her paw up to her chin, "I suppose we could get Bogo to switch our patrol routes so we pass by it and the spots Lionheart mentioned, but other than that I'm not sure."

"Hmm, yeah, that would be a start I guess. Maybe our dear Chief can suggest something more, because we'll probably need something more solid than a few pictures of politicians dining or having a good time..."

Nodding in agreement, the rabbit began wrapping up. "Other than that, all that's left is for us to set up the gear we got from Deputy Chief Gordon" A sudden worry however jerked her train of thought. "Speaking of which, how much of what we learned so far should we tell Bogo about?"

"Are you actually suggesting we withhold information from our superior, Hopps?" Nick inquired, eyebrow raised and that knowing smirk once again dominating his muzzle.

As much as she wanted to wipe the smug off her partner's face, Judy had to admit, that was a pretty odd question coming from her… Then again, this was an equally strange case, where the Chief himself had asked them to work and think outside of the norm.

Her discomfort was still apparent though, if Nick's change in demeanor was anything to go by. "I'm just teasing, Carrots. I know you don't feel right with any of this; yet, that is still a pertinent question." He joined his paws in front of his now empty plate.

"I think we should tell him about the equipment, since it is still ZPD property, but as for what we found out regarding his old crew… I'm not so sure we should open up just yet," he concluded, lightly shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"If he didn't tell us at the start, then it's most certainly because he resents what has become of some of his friends, not to mention he definitely doesn't want to favor anyone, knowingly or not." He then locked eyes with Judy and she finally began to understand how Nick had managed to avoid any big clashes with Bogo since he first started working, despite their pretty much opposing personalities. Deep within those glimmering emerald orbs, she could see a compassion and respect that Nick very rarely displayed. _He doesn't want to corner Bogo,_ she thought _, He wants to spare him as much as possible…_

 _But if that's the case_ – "I understand Nick, but wouldn't it be a weight off his shoulders if he knew he didn't have to hide anything from us? I mean, the fewer secrets we keep from each other, the more efficient we'll be, right?"

Nick was apparently still unsure as he turned his head away, ears glued to his scalp.

"Trust me, he'll be relieved that we found out by ourselves. I agree it's something he's probably not proud of, even if he's done nothing wrong. And you know, admitting is always the hardest part."

#

 _She's right… Guess we'll have to put Bogo on the spot for a bit after all_ , Nick thought once again, looking at his friend and conceding a half smile. "Alright Carrots, you've got a point. We'll be straightforward with him then."

Given how her smile brightened, Nick could tell that pleased Judy. "Well I think that about wraps it up for now, Nick. Ready to go?"

#

Leaving the diner, the cop duo started heading back towards City Center and their Precinct. They still had to debrief Bogo on their progress and plans before actually heading back home to set up the gear Deputy Chief Gordon had provided.

As they were walking side by side, Nick began making a mental to-do list of what he'd have to do in order to get into position to infiltrate the syndicate. It was by far one of the least enjoyable lists he'd ever come up with, but also one of the most important.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something pulling at the back of his pants. Stopping in his tracks and looking back and down at his rear, he saw the elastic to which he always attached his wallet poking out from his back pocket. As his gaze followed the stretched band, he found the aforementioned personal article in the hands of a rather well dressed skunk, who was also staring down at the situation.

As the two mammals raised their heads in unison, their eyes met. Nick's filled with curiosity and annoyance; the skunk's were confused and rather frightened.

"Can I help you, sir?"

This alerted Judy, who also came to a stop a few feet ahead of Nick. Her reaction was much swifter. First looking at the striped mammal and then down at the wallet in his paws, she immediately adopted a defensive stance and shouted.

"Hold it right there!"

Startled, the suit-clad skunk suddenly released his hold on Nick's wallet, swiveled around on his paws and darted away from the officers. In the meantime, the wallet was immediately pulled back by the elastic, striking Nick just below the tail, eliciting a pained yelp and a small jump from the fox.

Wasting no time, Judy set off in pursuit, using her superior speed to quickly catch up to the offender. Just as her partner was recomposing himself and joining in on the pursuit, the rabbit had gotten close enough to the skunk.

"You're under arrest!" She exclaimed as she grabbed the mammal's coat. This slowed him down momentarily, but he wasted no time in shaking the piece of clothing off, once again freeing himself from the bunny's grasp.

Since she was still pulling on the coat, Judy suddenly cried out as it smacked her and enveloped her head. Deprived of her vision and still barreling down the street at a considerable speed, she could do nothing about the light pole that appeared in her path.

"Hopps! Watch out for –" he was cut-off by the muffled thud of a blind rabbit meeting a metal pole and then slumping down and grabbing her unintentionally covered head.

Completely forgetting about the would-be pickpocket, Nick's only concern was making sure his friend and partner was all right, as he quickly reached and kneeled beside her.

Grabbing the rabbit by her shoulder, he gently reached for one end of the coat still covering her head, all the while asking, "Hey! Judy, hey! You okay? How are you feeling?"

Through muffled complaints, the pair eventually managed to untangle the mess of fabric impeding Judy's senses, with Nick quickly tossing it aside to gently cradle the bunny's head while looking her over.

As she brought her paw up to feel at her forehead, she suddenly winced in pain, prompting Nick to swat the meddling limb away. "Tsk! Leave it alone. How are you holding up Carrots?"

Opening her violet eyes once more, she moved to grab at the paw Nick still kept on her shoulder. "Remind me not to pick fights with light poles next time…"

Chuckling in relief, the fox helped Judy back to her feet.

"Where's the pickpocket?"

 _Of course she's asking about that right now…_ "He slipped away, and don't worry about that right now. We need to get to the precinct and put some ice on you before your head doubles in size."

Inevitably, she frowned. "But – "

Bringing up a finger, Nick cut her off. "No buts, I need that clever bunny brain of yours working properly. And we have his jacket anyways, so we'll find our friend soon enough."

Sighing, Judy relented and went to grab the mangled garment, only to seize up as she lifted it off the ground.

"Uh… Nick? You better look at this," she said, pointing at the ground where the coat had lay.

Following his partner's gesture, Nick's eyes suddenly widened, as they came to gaze upon a rather comprehensive collection of wallets and purses of all shapes and sizes.

"Figures… We get assigned a case that's been dead for weeks and we bump into the perp the very same day," he said, rolling his eyes.

#

To say Bogo was a rather impatient mammal on his good days would be an almost insulting understatement. He demanded the best from everyone under his command – he himself included – and if there was one thing he did not tolerate more than anything, it was a lack of punctuality. So when Judy and Nick arrived outside his office just under half an hour late – they'd lost some time with Judy's accident and then finding her an ice pack that wasn't half her size – they really were not surprised by the violence his booming voice carried. Slightly frightened, but not surprised.

"COME IN."

Since Judy was still holding the ice up to her forehead, Nick took to pushing open the door and letting them both into the office. Bogo was aggressively filing some paperwork in one of the cabinets behind his desk, meaning he had his back turned towards the pair. Nick helped her up into one of the chairs and then took his own seat.

Probably sensing his prey was ripe for the picking, Bogo slowly turned towards the young officers with a glare Judy could swear went straight through her head like a searing heat beam. Though that might have been her headache: the ice pack had prevented most of the swelling, but her head was still throbbing with pain.

That being said, the buffalo's glare only lasted for a split second, just long enough for him to take in the sight of the injured bunny and worried fox, after which a strange mix of worry and annoyance took over his expression. Apparently the worrisome side of the Chief was winning though, given how he began their meeting.

"Alright, before anything else, how bad is it, Hopps?"

"Nothing to worry about, sir. I just hit my head; it should be fine in a couple of hours." Judy took to emphasizing her point by waving with her free paw and attempting a grin, only to have it devolve into a grimace as her facial muscles cried out in complaint.

"Hmmm… It doesn't look that simple, Hopps. But so long as you're back to your regular self soon _enough_ , I don't care."

 _Liar_ … Judy thought looking over her superior's raised eyebrow. Everyone knew the Chief deeply cared about his officers, regardless of how little he showed it.

"What I _do_ care about is _how_ you got like that, Officer."

As the Chief crossed his arms and straightened his back awaiting her reply, Judy's mind was working as fast as it could given the circumstances to come up with an explanation that wouldn't be too embarrassing. Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on her chosen perspective– she didn't have to, since her partner took to explaining it for her.

"Come on Chief, you know how Hopps always likes to dive in head first." As much as she had grown to like his easygoing grin, right now she felt more like smacking it away with her icepack…

And then she wanted to do it to Bogo. "True as that may be, Wilde, it still doesn't answer my question."

Wanting to avoid further banter at her expense, she cut in and gave as brief of an explanation as she could. "Sir, a mammal tried to pickpocket Officer Wilde. My partner noticed and caught him in the act. While giving chase I, _miss-stepped_ , and hit a light pole."

This time both of Bogo's eyebrows started climbing up his forehead. "A pickpocket?"

"Yessir. We believe him to be the suspect behind the Wallet Case's string of thefts-"

Nick was cut off, however, by the loud breath Bogo began to slowly drag in, letting himself lean back in his chair in the process. Gripping its arms tightly, the buffalo then exhaled even louder, after which he finally spoke, looking at the ceiling.

"Of course. I give you a case that's been dead for weeks and it immediately gets a breakthrough… Better yet! The actual perp comes to you all by himself… Finally looking down at the two smaller mammals, he concluded, "Why am I not surprised."

All Nick and Judy could do was exchange weary chuckles and nervous glances as their boss once again inched closer towards the desk, his frame towering above them.

"Like I said earlier today: you are free to pursue any and all leads regarding the Wallet Case, since it's the one you're officially assigned to, but remember it is not your priority."

"Yes Sir!" They answered in unison.

"Now, before you fill me in on your progress so far, I have an update on MR's activities." Opening one of his desk's drawers, the Chief produced a regular manila envelope, handing it to Nick. "As I had already told you, since MR began operating, crucial pieces of evidence began disappearing before being brought to court — something that's been occurring in all Precincts, I should add. We didn't know how this was happening…until this morning." The buffalo then gestured towards the folder in the fox's paws.

Opening it so that both he and Judy could see, they found themselves looking at a quartet of grainy CCTV close ups depicting a fox, a zebra, a bear and a wolf.

"There was a break-in reported at Tundra Town's evidence locker, and while the perps managed to get away, surveillance footage allowed us to identify them."

"Dallas, Hoofston, Chains and Wolf," Nick read aloud, "I assume these are just their aliases?"

"That is correct; they're one of the more notorious heist crews in the City. They're also pretty good, since all we have on them is in that woefully thin folder.

"Of course, this changes nothing; it's just something else you'll need to look out for. So, what do you have to report regarding your investigation into MR?"

"Sir, following the information we gathered this morning, Officer Wilde and I have been able to plot out a course of action which should enable us to both learn about and infiltrate MR as well as start to uncover its ramifications for City Hall." Judy hesitated. She was the one who'd argued that they should let Bogo know about both the extra gear and knowledge they'd acquired, but she wasn't comfortable with their plan to present it. So she turned to her partner… "But there were some unexpected contributions which we would like to report first. Officer Wilde?"

The look the fox bestowed upon her was not completely new, but she'd only ever seen it once: when he was pretending to be savage… Safe to say he wasn't pleased with being put on the spot like that after she'd been the one wanting to tell Bogo everything. _Oh well… Good luck Nick._

"I'm waiting, Officer."

That gained the fox's attention, whose muzzle turned towards the Chief with an apologetic look.

"Ah, yes, well… First of all, Deputy Chief Gordon supplied us with some specially designed gear to facilitate our intelligence gathering. I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a detailed list of it." The buffalo limited himself to a nod, so Nick kept going, albeit even less confidently than before. "He also gave us some insight regarding MR's possible inner workings and arranged a meeting between us and a convict at the Penitentiary for us to learn some more about City Hall."

"Hm? Who was it?" Once again, one of the buffalo's eyebrows began to rise.

"Um… Leodore Lionheart, sir…"

As an audible groan escaped his chest, the Chief brought both hoofs up to his face, sliding them down and dragging his eyelids along. "Blast it, Gordon…"

"Sir, if I may…"

"Yes, Hopps, what is it…"

"The talk we had with the former mayor was actually extremely useful, sir. Thanks to his insight, I have an idea of how to proceed regarding City Hall, and… well…"

"And what, Officer?" Bogo's voice was booming as ever, but it also carried a tired tone to it, which made Judy think she'd been right: the Chief had probably been mulling over what Lionheart had told them for quite a while now.

"He told us about your former association, sir; beyond the relations between the ZPD and City Hall."

Once again letting himself sink back into his chair and closing his eyes, Bogo sighed sadly before continuing. "I should've expected you'd find out sooner rather than later. For what it's worth, I am sorry for keeping it a secret under these circumstances…"

Apparently, seeing the Chief in such a defeated state rubbed Nick the wrong way, as he immediately took to reassuring him. "We understand, Chief. It can't have been easy dealing with what you've had to."

As for Judy, she was witnessing a side to Bogo that the Chief almost never displayed. His towering walls of indifference and gruffness crumbled to reveal a very much normal feeling mammal. And while she'd seen such demonstrations of emotion regarding her and other officers, she'd never seen them focused on Bogo himself. To his credit, the buffalo always kept an extremely altruistic attitude, putting the issues of those under his command ahead of his own.

"You're right about that, Wilde. But I still should've kept you in the loop, at least after MR surfaced as a threat."

Feeling it was the right moment to move on, Judy began summarizing their plans "Regarding MR, sir, what Officer Wilde and I had in mind was – " only to be cut off by Bogo's raised hoof and commanding voice.

"Hopps, if you and Wilde don't mind, we'll discuss your plans later today. Go deal with whatever paperwork you still have due. I, uh… I need some time, officers."

Quickly exchanging interrogative glances, Nick and Judy promptly stepped down from their chairs and, after a quick salute, exited the Chief's office, leaving the Buffalo alone with his thoughts.

They had relieved Bogo of a secret, yes, but that also meant they had had access to his private life. And that was something neither of the smaller officers was too comfortable with. So they figured some time to adjust was the least Bogo could ask of them.

The only downside was how they were going to pass the time until he called them back in. As dedicated as Judy was, papercut detail was still the bane of any Police Officer…

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Two references in this chapter to watch out for: one in regards to a game that recently had its fifth anniversary (although it's a rather small one) and another regarding a certain Belgian comic book and its two comic relief characters.**

 **It should also be said that the diner was designed to resemble "Pastelaria Cunha", a nice restaurant in Porto, Portugal. If you ever find yourselves there, I definitely recommend it. The biggest difference is the lack of a fast food-like ordering system.**

 **In the meantime, something very exciting has happened. I've been in contact with Blenderguy15 and he's allowed me to include his "Payday Quartet" in my fic! They're mentioned here for the first time, and they'll show up more prominently in the near future. His stories are very pleasant blends (pun intended) of heavy topics and lighthearted storytelling and I urge you to check them out.**

 **See you next time.**

 **Cheers!**


	9. Ch9 - Trips down memory lane

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

Extra credit goes to Euphonemes who is now helping me by Beta Reading these chapters. He's being extremely helpful in this learning experience for me and his own fic **Run** definitely deserves a careful read.

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Trips down memory lane**

Once Precinct One's smallest officers left the Chief's office, and the buffalo heard the door's lock slide back into place, Bogo once again allowed himself to sink into his heavily cushioned chair, letting his whole body relax and his wired mind wander.

Heads of Precincts had a lot more freedom to fiddle with their offices than other officers, but the tailored chair had been the only change Bogo had sought when he took command. The buffalo didn't like to consider himself superior to any of his officers regardless of their respective ranks; in his mind, he merely had a different job which happened to involve coordinating the officers in his precinct, so he didn't feel the need or the desire to have a special working space compared to everyone else's. He had, however, foreseen several long nights spent in his office, so a chair one could actually sit on for more than thirty minutes without getting cramps was his only indulgence.

At that moment, however, his seating arrangements served more as a gateway into his troubled mind rather than a source of work efficiency, and his relaxed state took him into memories he hadn't visited in a long time. Far too long, given the circumstances….

He was once again a calf in Savannah Central's Public High School. His surroundings indicated he was in the School's front yard, sitting under one of the large cork oaks that dotted the grounds. He also realized he was not alone: there was Gordon sitting to his left, just on the edge of the tree's shade and letting his tail soak up the warm mid-afternoon sun. Quinn was directly in front of him, finishing off a cup of Grass N'Go, and Lionheart was to his right, casually sitting against the tree's soft and spongy trunk, seemingly taking a nap.

He moved to try and get the lion's attention and ask him a question, only to be cut off by Leodore's booming voice. Even at such a relatively young age, Leodore's bass could command a conversation with astounding ease.

"Yes, Samuel, I did deal with Mrs. Isabella. Our prey colleagues shouldn't have any more issues with her from now on." The confirmation was given in a completely relaxed tone, so much so Bogo thought he could even make out the soft rumbling of a purr in the background. The buffalo huffed and raised an eyebrow.

"And how exactly did you _deal_ with her? A speciesist gym teacher is a rigged time bomb." Lionheart had always had a knack for defusing tense situations and confrontations, but sometimes he let too much of his careless nature take hold and ended up generating more problems than he solved.

"Relax, I spoke to the Student Council and they made a formal complaint to the Principal. They might be mostly preds, but most of them are cool." The lion then smirked with aplomb that Bogo would only ever see from one other (tiny and often infuriating) mammal in his life. "Oh what would you three do without me here…"

At that Quinn nearly choked on his snack, though he soon controlled his coughing fit enough to snort at the lion's jab.

"Well, we probably wouldn't be on the blacklist of so many teachers for _meddling_ as they say…"

That actually got Lionheart to open his eyes, setting them on the Zebra. "Yeah, and how many others would be worse off for a little more comfort on our side?"

The group suddenly sobered at that reminder. Lionheart had been the one to suggest that they should start working towards change rather than waiting for their jobs to do so. They had all known each other for a couple years then, but it had been the lion who had truly brought them together.

Quinn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Don't take this the wrong way Leodore, I'm not upset with what we've got going here, far from it… but it seems most mammals are either waiting for someone to come along and better the world for them or they'd rather milk it for what it's worth and to hell with everyone else."

He huffed and pointed at Gordon. "By now there are very few people who don't recognize you or Bogo, but you, Gordon, keep getting left out or mocked for being – and this isn't me, just what I heard – 'a small and pointless mammal.'"

Gordon simply shrugged and wiggled his tail. "And if I hear them, they get a face-full of beaver tail."

The rodent's jest was enough to lighten the mood, and as Bogo and Lionheart shared a laugh, Quinn managed to crack a genuine smile.

"We all know how easy it is for mammals to cry out for what they think is wrong with our city," Bogo began, "and then how quickly they craft excuses when asked if they're willing to work on those issues themselves. But we can't let that stop us from doing our best, regardless of who or what we are, in order to make this a city we are all proud to call our own."

They all cheered the buffalo's impromptu speech, and when the group calmed again, Lionheart spoke up. "Are you still set on going into the Academy, Samuel? 'Cuz with speeches like that, I'd sure like you with me in City Hall…."

"Um, no, not in your wildest dreams," Bogo replied, snorting. "Me and Gordon want to be out there on the streets helping whoever we can, however we can. What about you, Quinn?"

Shrugging, the Zebra explained: "To be honest, I'm not sure. I respect your desire to be out there, but I also agree with Leodore. While it may be harder to get them through, changes that come from City Hall have the potential to actually fix issues, rather than dealing with their symptoms…so I guess I'm leaning more towards working with our walking dust mop to bring change to our city's leadership."

With impeccable timing, the school bell rang, announcing the end of the afternoon recess and the start of the day's last bout of classes. But, somehow, Bogo found that the bell he was hearing differed from the one he remembered from his old school.

Cracking open one eye, his mind lurched into the real world as he realized it was his landline phone that was ringing with screeching disharmony.

Groaning, the buffalo brought his towering frame back up from the reclined chair and picked up the receiver. "Chief Bogo here."

"Hello, Samuel."

Almost as if he had just gotten up from a rough night's sleep, it took Bogo a couple of seconds to process what the voice had said and who owned the voice. However, when he did….

"Commissioner! What can I help you with?" The buffalo blurted out, only to curse himself at the nervousness his tone carried.

"Come now, Samuel, how many times do I have to tell you not to bother with titles? I still think of you as my old colleague and friend after all."

"Yes, si – Alphonse. Sorry, I've just been a bit… on edge lately."

"Hmm, yes… first your suspicions of moles in your Precinct and now this heist crew tearing through our evidence… I'd be surprised if you weren't worried in some way."

"About that, Alphonse." By now, Bogo had managed to calm himself and focus on his job. "How will the break-in at the locker be handled?"

"Well, it was a direct attack on Tundra Town's Precinct, so they'll take the lead, but I've also been told that this particular crew usually operates in Sahara Square and Savannah Central. That being the case, both of those precincts will provide assistance to Tundra Town's. You'll send all the files you have on the cases and the perps themselves, and the officers who handled them will be temporarily reassigned to Tundra Town."

 _That would be Delgato and Snarloff._ "Understood, I'll see to it immediately."

"Good. Oh, and one last thing."

"Yes, Alphonse?"

"You really should drop your suspicions of turncoats within the force. Not only would it be next to impossible to plant them in the scale you described, but they'd also be damned near invisible. Not only that, things in City Hall tend to move at a pace which makes continental shift look fast, and no one here is eager to start city wide inquiries again any time soon."

Bogo had never been a very good liar or actor: he was too stalwart in his principles, and he was too pragmatic for the required theatrics. However, that he agreed with at least half of what the Commissioner had said – the proceedings in city government were _agonizingly_ slow – made it easier to conceal his true intentions.

"Yes, you've already explained why I should focus on more pressing issues…." The sigh that accompanied Bogo's reminder was ambiguous, as it could refer to both the Commissioner's stance and City Hall's performance, but it did the trick in conveying resignation. "And I have… tried, to forget about that. I can't help keeping closer tabs on what goes on around me, but that's about it."

Quinn actually burst out laughing on the other side of the line. "Ha! Of course, Chief, of course… I know you'll always follow your gut to some extent. It's something that makes you such a good cop."

"Thanks, I guess?"

"You know Bogo, we really should meet up for coffee one of these days. To catch up, you know?"

The thought of getting back in touch with one of his oldest friends actually brought out a genuine smile in spite of the buffalo's glum mood. "I'd like that, Alphonse."

"We'll figure something out then! In the meantime, good luck with that heist crew."

"Thank you, Commissioner, have a nice day."

 _Click_

Having set down the phone's receiver – much more gently than the device was used to – the Chief once again fell back into his chair, picking apart the Commissioner's call. Bogo had expected him to make contact in order to coordinate the investigation into the evidence theft at Tundra Town's precinct, but not in such an informal way.

 _After all this time and with so little friendly contact…_ _._ The Chief was happy, of course; Quinn actually seemed to be interested in rekindling their friendship. But it was still such a leap from the Alphonse of the past decade…

Thinking back on the memory he'd just relived, Bogo recalled just how the four of them had evolved and changed since their idealistic beginnings, and he couldn't suppress the frown that surreptitiously distorted his snout.

They'd all wanted to make the city a better place. They had different ideas on how to do it, but the endgame was the same. And while each of the four mammals succeeded in their own ways, the toppled hurdles and crushed obstacles that littered their paths had taken their toll.

For the last decade, Gordon and Bogo had been permanently exposed to the worst the city had to offer, from murderers and rapists to petty thieves and con artists. They had seen ruined mammals get back on their feet and others descend into despair. They had seen new recruits be inducted into the ZPD family and had bid farewell to brothers in arms, either through the alcoholic haze of a retirement party or the heavy and still air of a police funeral. Both beaver and buffalo had stayed true to their intentions, but their once cheery optimistic natures had retreated back into scarred and battle-hardened shells that exuded indifference to the untrained eye. Those who wore the badge with them, though, saw it as a defense against the hardships of the veritable war Bogo and Gordon waged almost daily to protect their city and its values.

In the end, both Bogo and Gordon had exiled themselves, in a way, avoiding contact with those who could potentially crack their defenses and reveal the tired and hurt mammals inside. Truth be told, Hopps' energy and Wilde's attitude had done wonders for the buffalo's troubled mind, but he strayed far from the spirit of his youth.

On the other hand, Quinn and Lionheart had faced an entirely different set of difficulties. In their rise through the ranks of city government, they'd discovered that inertia wasn't relegated only to physics textbooks: whenever they pushed to change something, the established system pushed back, sometimes without any apparent reason other than it was different. Lionheart's indomitable but easygoing nature fortunately resisted, but he became a lot more self-reliant, which culminated in him taking the Nighthowler crisis into his own paws rather than addressing it appropriately.

But, the effects on Quinn had been much more noticeable: the stubbornness they sometimes were faced with, coupled with the "everyone for themselves" mentality that oftentimes surfaced in the political elite of the city had soured and embittered the zebra. And then there were the inter-precinct relations… Quinn hadn't become Commissioner to be closer to his friends in the force. From the start, he had recognized the importance of people like Bogo and Gordon on the frontlines to bolster the floodgates until City Hall got around to installing more permanent solutions. To that end, Quinn had educated himself as best he could to provide the finest conditions possible for the ZPD. Yet, he (and Bogo and Gordon) hadn't counted on the Deputy Chiefs in charge of each Precinct being almost as territorial as mob bosses. It had been a herculean task for the three of them to bring the ZPD's multiple precincts together into a truly interconnected network. And while they had gotten there – after lobbying, transfers, sackings and promoting Bogo to Police Chief – the underlying pettiness of it all had left a very sour taste in Quinn's mouth.

The distance he'd created between himself and his old friends had been astronomical, so Bogo felt genuinely surprised and happy knowing his old striped friend had apparently crossed that gap – even if only partway.

Of course, that would have to wait. Quinn's invitation was a welcome breath of positivity, but the buffalo pushed it to the back of his mind and refocused on the matter at hand: getting to the bottom of the apparent corruption within his Precinct.

Pulling himself back towards the desk, he triggered the direct intercom to the reception desk and hailed the cheerful cheetah manning it.

"Clawhauser, find Hopps and Wilde and get them back up here."

"Sure thing! Right away, Chief."

Grunting in acknowledgement, Bogo released the intercom's button and got up from his chair. Turning around, he leveled his gaze at the large ZPD crest in his office. _Trust, integrity, bravery_.

Trust was one of the sentiments the "Helpful Hand of Four" had been founded on. They may have been an odd group made up of _very_ different mammals, but the experiences they'd shared, how they looked up to and out for each other and the their complementary mindsets had instilled them all with a deep unwavering trust. Eventually, however, Lionheart's mistakes, Gordon and Bogo's scars, and Quinn's bitterness had tainted that fundamental sentiment.

Integrity was an underlying value of everything the group had done. They wanted to better the world around them, and were very uncompromising in their efforts, not once opting for the easy or convenient path over the righteous one. Once again though, time had proven that a somewhat frail endeavor: either in the Force or in City Hall, all four mammals had at one point or another found themselves faced with an impossible choice – letting a dangerous convict go in exchange for information on someone else, or passing an unwanted bill to gain support further on – which had forced them to momentarily forego their own respective values to ensure at least a partial victory.

As for bravery… well they'd all been brave in their own ways since they'd started working together. _Sometimes a little_ too _brave in Lionheart's case_ …. But they'd all grown tired by this point, the most obvious case being Quinn's reluctance to investigate the apparent corruption within the ZPD.

The buffalo brought his hoof up the crest, letting it hover mere inches above it. They had truly fallen a long way from their original goals and ideals. _Then again…_ The Chief thought, _I guess once you hit bottom, the only place left to go, is up._

He finally allowed his hoof to touch the oversized shield and, while a determined smile managed to crack through his previous frown, he gently trailed the motto's words. _Trust, integrity, bravery._

"Time to get them back."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well what do you know, I'm not dead (though I might be when my finals end…).**

 **I have, however given up all hope of ever coming up with a regular update schedule… as all of my previous attempts have proven me incapable of it. Sorry about that.**

 **Nevertheless, and as I said earlier, my finals are ending, so there will actually be updates. When? No idea. But I do intend to see this story through. It's been a wonderful experience so far and I have no intention of stopping or throwing in the towel.**

 **As usual, comments, critiques and PMs are greatly appreciated, as they allow me the chance to improve.**

 **See you next time (where we meet Quinn and Nick's mom in person).**

 **Cheers!**


	10. Ch10 - Friends and family Pt1

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

I might just have to setup a "Go fund me" or something to pay Euphonemes... He did some amazing work with this chapter (which was re-written 3 or 4 times...). Seriously, go check him and his fic **Run** out.

* * *

 **Chapter 10 - Friends and family Pt 1**

"However did you convince me to let you stay in that seat…."

Judy only got Nick's slightly wider smirk as he sped their cruiser through an intersection, beating the red light by a fraction of a second.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll put the sirens on," mused the fox.

Scoffing, Judy was quick to dissuade her partner. "So you want to add abuse of authority to reckless driving? My, my, Officer Wilde, are you living up to your name today…."

"You know you love me." Turning towards her just a fraction, he added. "And you're one to talk, after kicking me into the limelight in front of Bogo." He didn't quite scowl, but he certainly showed his displeasure with her actions during their last talk with the Chief.

"Hum, but you did great?" She forced a hopeful smile while nervously stroking one of her droopy ears.

Nick limited himself to a raised eyebrow behind his shades. She sighed. "Okay, sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that after I was the one to bring up the topic of Bogo's friendships."

This time stopping at the red light, Nick brought his paw up from the gear stick and began ruffling his partner's ears. "Ah don't sweat it Carrots… though a little warning next time, please."

After fighting off the offending red appendage, Judy managed to relax a bit. No matter what happened, from almost starting a species war all those years ago or finding a blood bath inside a high-end strip club, to getting set up with a stuck-up buck by her parents or simply feeling down, it seemed talking with her partner always helped. Maybe it was the inherent trust that comes from having covered each other's backs for two years in the ZPD, or the life changing events of the Nighthowler case, but Judy always felt like she could talk with Nick about anything and everything…and she guessed he felt very much the same way. He was very sparing as far as his past was concerned – not that he tried to hide it, he was just choosy on when to shine light on it – but given what she already knew, she couldn't really blame the fox. Heck, she was still grateful he even forgave her in the first place during the Nighthowler fiasco.

Though as she pondered on the comfort they felt when they were together, something else popped into her mind: the Chief. He seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown when he'd asked them to leave for a moment, and yet he was as happy as she'd ever seen him when he called them back.

"Hey, Nick?"

"Hm?"

"Didn't Bogo seem a _lot_ more cheerful the second time we went up to his office?"

He turned his head, not enough to take his eyes off the road, but plenty for Judy to understand she had his full attention. She couldn't quite read his expression, but it looked like he was gauging her own reactions before speaking himself.

"You noticed," he said.

"Well, yeah. Seeing Bogo smile is as rare as a rainy day in Sahara Square. Do you think he got some good news while we were out?" She was happy for the buffalo, really. Whatever had happened was certainly a needed breath of positivity in the midst of the last days'… revelations.

"Probably." He clicked his tongue. "I just hope it lasts. The Chief could really use a pick-me-up right about now."

She hummed in agreement as they turned into Nick's street, failing to notice how, as soon as she seemed to dismiss the subject, the fox visibly relaxed. In fact, she was far too encroached in her own thoughts to notice much of anything, at that point.

Judy had been a bit – okay, _very_ – naïve when she got to Zootopia, both in regards to how the world worked and about the mammals that filled it. Fortunately, three years with a redeemed con-mammal turned cop who had decades of experience to share had done wonders for her. She was still a bright-eyed optimist on her worst days, but she knew better than to expect the best from everyone. And, even more important in their line of work, she'd become extremely proficient at figuring out other mammals, getting past their facades… especially regarding a certain russet trickster. Yes, in showing her the ways of mammal-reading, Nick had inadvertently shown her how to get past most of his own masks. The twitch of an ear, a muzzle wrinkled in a particular way, the occasional tic a mammal might show. All of those details which anyone might dismiss as a natural reaction to a passing car or a poorly washed mammal became so much more when one actually paid attention to which showed up when.

Casing him out of the corner of her eye, she began cataloguing those very signs in her mind, trying to get a peek behind this exceedingly stubborn mask. Judy had already seen Nick both at his most vulnerable and at his most confident; such are the demands of a good partnership and friendship. However, the last few days had been a non-stop stream of revelations and emotional jump-scares, so she'd entirely expected Nick to have put up a few new walls. To her surprise though, the only real barrier he'd begun using had been in preparation for his undercover work – and that didn't really count, since he'd be dead without it.

Pouring over their latest comings and goings, she recalled their conversation at the diner. Nick hadn't really been subtle in his desire to spare Bogo as much embarrassment as possible, and he clearly cared for the buffalo's well-being. Well, he cared _more_ than would be expected in an employer-employee relationship.

She was brought back from her ruminations by the cruiser slowing to halt. Turning her head to look out the window, she realized they'd arrived at their destination, the creamy drab buildings welcoming them to Nick's quiet neighborhood. The rustling to her left made her look back, where she found her partner already hanging his shades on his shit's collar and making for the door handle. The moment they left the cruiser, however, she'd lose her chance to find out what was going on between her boss and her — _wait_. Was she really going to call him _her_ _fox_?... Anyway, _Nick_ , would most likely deflect the issue and focus on the tech gear they still had to sort through.

Reaching out, she gently grabbed him by the forearm, earning his attention but apparently not deterring him from trying to escape. He did turn his head to face her with an inquisitive eye, but he was still firmly grasping the door handle and leaning towards it.

"Nick, why does Bogo's predicament affect you so much?"

His eyes widening and avoiding her own, he began awkwardly shuffling even more towards the door.

"Errr… Carrots, we still have all that gear to sort through and – "

Her gentle grip firmed, and she pulled on his arm, preventing him from actually exiting the cruiser.

"I'm not letting this go, Nick."

She expected him to try and squirm out of her interrogation with either a witty remark or, more likely, by appealing to her softer side. What she wasn't expecting, however, was for him to pull back on the leash just as hard.

"Yes. You _are_."

She'd been Nick's partner and friend for long enough for her prey instincts not to kick in at the slightest hint of aggression, so her nose stayed still. Not that the fox had lashed out at her, but the sudden finality of his tone definitely caught her off guard and sent her ears sky high.

He turned and locked eyes with her. Except those usually vibrant and even mesmerizing emerald orbs were dull, tired-looking and — together with his own erect ears — made him look strung out. But he immediately softened when he was with her almost startled expression. He immediately lowered his ears and looked straight ahead, suddenly distraught.

"Ah, sorry, Judy. I didn't mean.…" Taking a deep breath, he clarified. "You've been my partner for almost two years now, and my friend for three. You know what I've realized over that time?" She expected him to continue immediately, but the small pause he introduced instead made her think he was expecting an answer, so she gingerly shook her head. "Not only do I trust you with my life, I'm also completely fine with you knowing every single sad or dirty detail of my life."

Were it not for the still somewhat tense situation she'd created, Judy was pretty sure she would have jumped him and crushed her partner in a warm and tear-soaked hug. But in restraining herself, she also got the opportunity to ruminate on Nick's statement. _If he's that comfortable sharing everything, then why –_

"No matter how comfortable I am with you knowing those things, however, it's still difficult for me to deal with some myself. And the last couple of days have been just about as much as I can take in one sitting, Carrots."

His explanation had gradually morphed her initial surprise into a sweet and fuzzy satisfaction at Nick's trust, though the conclusion he arrived at left a bitter aftertaste. And she had to admit, the week's revelations had certainly been hard on her partner. So she returned her paw to his forearm – now hanging limp beside him – and gave a reassuring squeeze.

 _Kinda like in the Gondola_ , she thought. As he turned to once again face her, she slowly nodded in understanding and offered a small but sincere smile. Which, much to her delight, he half-liddedly returned.

They stayed like that for a few comfortable seconds, until Nick broke the small trance with a timely reminder.

"Soooo… I _was_ kind of trying to evade back there, but we _do_ need to unload and set up the gear Gordon got us."

She once again smiled at him, and, bringing her paw up, gave him three little taps on the cheek. She had never seen him so flustered, and he began almost furiously scratching behind his ear and avoiding eye contact.

Satisfied, Judy quickly spun around in her seat and popped open the door.

"When you're right, you're right, Officer Wilde. Let's get to it then, partner!"

#

Watching the fluffy tail vanish behind the cruiser, Nick had to quickly shake himself to regain his composure. _That rabbit is either the best or the worst thing that's ever happened to me…_

Not wanting to be left behind, however, he quickly removed the key from the ignition and stepped out of the cruiser to join Judy at the trunk. With a swift paw, he swiped the duffel bag from her despite her barrage of valiant complaints.

"Judy, this bag is more than half your size, and while I have no doubt you'd lift it like it was nothing, you would also look ridiculous doing it. And I refuse to be party to such a sad spectacle."

She kept up her empowering assurances for a bit longer, taking particular care in reminding him of all the instances when she'd beaten him on the sparring ring. Simply humming in mock agreement at everything the rabbit said, Nick locked the cruiser and headed towards his building. Eventually, as they began climbing the stairs to the front door, Judy conceded and limited herself to an annoyed pout.

As they made their way into the drab structure and eventually up to Nick's floor, he figured the bunny was due for a bit of cheering up…in his own way, of course.

"Chin up, Carrots! I'm sure tinkering with all the gizmos we got from our nocturnal pals will be fun." He then waited a few seconds, spying the rabbit's reaction from the corner of his predatory eye, and as soon as he saw that glimmer in the amethyst — the shine they got when Judy had her mind set on a case — he pounced.

"Hey, if nothing else, it'd look mighty suspicious to have you looking so down on yourself after you've just been assigned a new case. I mean, not being thrilled about catching a pickpocket? Mammals might start asking questions…"

Nick always found it amusing (and for some reason endearing) how quickly and seamlessly Judy managed to switch her expressions. And when the end result was her giving him the stink-eye, it usually meant a job well done for his snarky side. Of course in this case in particular, it also had the added benefit of completely clearing their mood, since there's nothing quite as natural for them as a bit of good-natured ribbing.

And apparently Judy seemed to share that opinion since, as they approached his door, her previous pout did actually start transforming into an easygoing smirk.

"If anyone's going to be asking questions, it's me, Slick."

Entering the apartment, Nick dropped off the duffle bag next to the couch and made a beeline for the kitchenette, where he kept a fold-up garden table he used for more "formal" meals. In this case, however, it'd simply make it easier to sort through both the materials and the notes they'd gotten so far.

While he set it up in front of the couch, Judy had begun rummaging through the bag's content, laying it out next to her for ease of access. Once the table was upright and locked in position – to avoid any mishaps with stray feet or tails – Nick plopped down next to his partner and peeked over her ears at the neatly arranged devices and papers.

"So, where do we begin, Nick?"

He shrugged. "The vests don't really need sorting, I mean, we know which is whose and we know how to use them, so they can already be set aside."

"Mind if I take the duffel bag with my share of the loot back to my place? It'd be easier than carrying whatever I need back in hand."

As Nick simply nodded in agreement, Judy retrieved the bag from behind the couch where she'd put it after emptying it and, storing her assigned protective vest within, set it down next to her feet.

"Where do you want your vest?" Judy asked, holding it up in front of him.

The fox grabbed it, looked it over, inspecting the padding behind the hardened protective plates with a good squeeze or two, and then proceeded to push himself up slightly, placing the protective garment right where the small of his back met the couch. The sigh of pleasure that accompanied his descent back into the make-shift pillow had Judy looking at him in bewilderment.

"Uh, Nick? What are you doing?"

Rotating his shoulders and stretching his back until a couple of noticeable _pops_ were heard, he explained. "I was pretty lucky in finding an already furnished apartment, given the lack of it back at the warehouse… but this couch has no lumbar support to speak of."

"Fine. Just be sure not to forget to use the vest for what it's _actually_ for, okay?" Any other time, Nick would have noticed how the "detective glimmer" in Judy's eyes had suddenly switched to a more mischievous glint, but he was far too busy enjoying the extra cushioning on his back. "You're already the right color for target practice, so we really shouldn't take any chances."

 _Well played, Fluff. However…_ As his smirk once again began playing about his lips, he sat upright and faced the bunny.

"Ah, but that's exactly why I keep my tail this groomed and lustrous! You see, it serves a double purpose: On a regular day, it's irresistible for any vixen, but if someone is chasing me or wants to harm me in any other way, then I use it as a distraction." And, to prove his point, he swished his tail quickly across Judy's face. It barely brushed her nose, but it was enough to make it start twitching violently.

" _Gah_!" Gently caressing her snout with one hand, Judy still managed to swat away an attempt at a second pass by Nick's tail. "Oh I'm sure they're all lining up to marry you after being slapped in the face by that."

He chuckled, enjoying the moment for a bit, but they both eventually calmed down enough to get back to the task at hand. "Speaking of which, didn't Gordon say he had something with my tail in mind?"

Turning her head, Judy scanned the equipment beside her. "Oh yeah. This, recorder, I guess?" She picked up the device, which consisted of a thin box the size of her iPaw, attached to a long coiled wire. Said wire was, for the most part, unremarkable, looking like something you'd fine on an old telephone. It did, however, feature a number of sections where the solid rubber was replaced by a thin metal mesh. Setting it on the table where they could better analyze it, she then retrieved Gordon's notes on it and began reading.

"Tail Recording Device: Meant for use by mammals whose tails are voluminous and bushy, this recorder is intended for high-risk situations where suspects might be expecting and looking for traditional bugs. The multiple complementing microphones embedded into a long coiled wire allow it to be wrapped around a mammal's tail, beneath the fur, which functions like a natural filter while concealing the device. Additionally, by moving some of the required electronic components into the wire itself, it is possible to reduce the size of the recorder's main body, allowing it to be easily carried in one's back pocket or – ideally – glued to one's lower back, where the body's natural anatomy helps to hide it."

She twisted the end of the meshed coil in her paw. "Huh, I have to hand it to the guys down at the Skunk Works, this is pretty clever." Glancing up at her ears, she added, "I mean, it takes playing to one's strengths to a whole new level… I wonder if they have something for rabbit ears."

While Judy had been reading the description, Nick had opted for a more hands-on introduction, discovering a series of controls on the wire's base. Once the rabbit was done, he wasted no time in comparing the buttons he'd found with the diagrams Gordon had provided in his notes.

"We should probably give it a try to make sure we got it." Funnily enough, the mere mention of it made his tail instinctively twitch. As he disconnected the wire from the recorder's box to put it on, Judy unexpectedly intervened.

"I hope it doesn't ruffle it up too much…." She was now playing with a strand of fur, though Nick seemed to her some additional mumbling. _Be a real shame, too_ _…_ he thought she said.

"What was that, Carrots?" _Wait, is she, blushing?_ Her ears had definitely darkened.

"I was just saying that it had better not ruffle your tail up, because mammals are so used to seeing it perfectly groomed."

That made sense, and it was a valid concern, one that he had himself shared… but he was also pretty sure that was not what she'd mumbled. Fox hearing might not compare to rabbit hearing, but it was far from the worst around. And, anyway, Judy's refusal to lock eyes with the fox told him she was more than a bit embarrassed at what she'd actually said. Nevertheless, Nick gambled.

"You're right, but that's not it, is it? You're just upset about the tail itself… _aren't you_?" And just for added effect, he wiggled it a bit in front of her.

If anything could confirm Nick's suspicions, the way Judy's ears shot up in alarm would certainly do it.

"Whaaat? Pfft, no. I'm just worried we… you, might give away something. I mean, why would I even get worked up over another mammal's tail… even if it is shiny, fluffy, probably a good body pillow actually, and… oh sweet cheese and crackers…"

While his face naturally settled into a smug grin, cherishing his victory, Nick felt like someone had thrown a stick into the gears of his mind, as they jerked to a halt trying to process the embarrassed rabbit's outburst. _Does she really like it that much?... And wants to use it as a pillow… But she does know how intimate a tail –_ Fortunately, Judy tried to push ahead of the touchy topic, to which Nick was all too happy to oblige.

"Can we just, _move on_?"

"Let's…."

Judy very obviously relaxed, and the look she sent his way was a clear and wordless "thank you". As she went to pick up another item from beside her, Nick realized he hadn't actually gotten around to testing the tail recorder, which still sat disassembled in his lap. Not that he was planning on doing it now; anything involving the word "tail" was to be avoided for the next few hours…so he just put the parts on the table to work through them alone later.

"Want to try out the earpieces?"

#

By the time they finished going through all the gadgets and notes they'd brought into Nick's apartment, it was already dinner time. As Judy went about organizing her share of the equipment in the bag, her stomach loudly reminded her of the passage of time. Judy thanked her lucky stars Nick was in his bedroom, where there was no earthly way he could have….

"I heard that."

 _Of course…_ "Yeah, sorry. But I am starving. You want to get take out?"

At that point, her partner waltzed back into the room while flipping through a ledger.

"Sorry Carrots, no can do. I still need to work out a few things before I go talk to Patrick." Looking up from the book, he gave her a morose look, which only lasted a second before he seemed to remember something. "Which reminds me: Can you give me Fru Fru's number?"

"Um, sure?" She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Just try not to anger a crime boss again, m'kay?"

He clicked his tongue and, as she zipped up the bag, went back to his ledger, also pulling out his phone. "No promises, Fluff."

At that point, Judy was all set to leave, when she thought of something. Recalling their conversation in the cruiser, Judy realized nothing had really changed or happened that might help Nick cope with his current torrent of contradicting emotions. Sure, they'd talked, and venting always helps, but then they'd gone straight back to work. And while work might have been the ideal distraction for her, she was all too aware it didn't quite have the same effect on her partner; she knew he would probably still be brooding at that point. So, she decided to do something about it.

"Speaking of promises, I seem to recall you promising to take me to your mom's place for dinner last week." Judy had truly been looking forward to that visit, as not only was Mrs. Wilde extremely good company, she also made some killer cheese and veggie casserole.

She caught him off guard, which she could easily tell by his sudden look of confusion. Her warm smile, however, must have adequately conveyed her intentions, since the fox quickly shed his questioning expression for an easygoing one.

"I guess I did. I'll let you know when we'll be going."

"Sounds great, I'll text you Fru Fru's number as soon as I get back home."

Setting down his book, though not his cell, Nick walked her to his apartment door and gave her a two-fingered salute as she got out and started heading back towards the stairs.

Judy thought she heard Nick's phone ring with Finnick's tune as she walked down the hall, but at that point there was no real reason to go back. So she went on her way, busying herself by going through her options as far as dinner went.

#

"Clawhauser, please have Officer Higgins come up."

"Sure thing, Chief." As the slightly distorted but nonetheless gleeful voice of the cheetah cut off from the intercom, Bogo returned his attention to the pile of documents in front of him. It was an assorted collection of case updates, department requests and the occasional personal report; essentially everything required to make sure all of the currently open cases were being properly followed up on.

Restacking them for the hundredth time, the buffalo couldn't help but remind himself that he had found no mention of what he considered their highest priority case, and no matter how many times he told himself that there was no other way, the off-the-books and somewhat reckless manner in which they were looking into MR irked him to no end.

A rap on the door quickly brought him back to reality.

"Come in."

As the door to his office opened, in came the hippo he'd just summoned, greeting the Chief with a full salute.

"Thank you for coming, Higgins." He picked up the flawlessly arranged sheaf of papers and set them down at the front of his desk, lightly tapping them with his hoof.

"These have all been sorted and dealt with. Please make sure they get to their respective departments and officers."

"Right away, Chief." The hippo grabbed the pile and, taking care not to ruffle it up too much, started making his way back towards the office's door.

"Higgins, hold on."

Stopping with his paw already on the door handle, the officer turned his head to face the Chief.

"Has there been any news about the perp who wound up in hospital?"

Shaking his head in what could be described as an overabundance of sorrow, the hippo had to disappoint the buffalo.

"Sorry Chief, he's still out cold."

Bogo nodded slowly, resigning himself to the little information he had at the moment. "Thank you Officer. That will be all."

After the hippo left, Bogo took a breath, clearing his mind and letting himself relax for a brief moment. He was just about to start thinking of dinner when his phone rang. _Really? At this hour?_

 _Click_

"Bogo speaking."

"Hello again, Samuel."

The buffalo instinctively straightened in his chair.

"Quinn! Fancy hearing from you again so soon."

He could hear some indistinct chuckling before the familiar voice spoke again.

"Well, I had mentioned finding the time to catch up, hadn't I?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Did the Commissioner really want to do that over the phone?

"How does lunch this Saturday sound? My treat."

As a warm, almost familial feeling spread through Bogo, he actually laughed before replying. "If it's your treat, I would even be willing to discuss department policy." He sighed contently before continuing. "It sounds great, Alphonse."

He heard a hoof clapping on a table followed by the happy voice of his childhood friend. "It's settled then! I'll swing by the Precinct at noon or so."

"You've got a deal. Take care, Alphonse."

After ending the call, Bogo put his cellphone down and once again let himself fall into his chair. He was impossibly tired, not only from the day's workload, but also from the beating his nerves had received from Hopps and Wilde's discoveries about him. Nevertheless, he now had a chance to fix something which, until earlier that day, had no chance for a favorable conclusion in the foreseeable future.

 _Things might just be starting to look up_ _…._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well then, a LOT of stuff has happened since the last update. So, here we go.**

 ***takes a deep breath***

 **Zootopia had it's one year anniversary and, shortly after, won the Oscar for Beast Animated Feature! Congratulations to Disney and especially to the amazing team which brought us this masterpiece. It made me give my fiction some more time and even start posting it here.**

 **On a more personal note, we reached - and passed - 100 followers. I am still dumbstruck by that. And the story also got featured on ZNN...**

 **I mean, I was hoping the a dozen of you guys might find the idea interesting enough to stay with me, but I was under no illusion that this was somehow unique in it's premise. There are many stories, many GREAT stories which revolve around Nick's pat and how he deals with it, and even more with WildeHopps in them. So having this much interest in what I've come up with is mind blowing. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.**

 **Also, the story finally has some actual cover art, from the ever-talented Kungfufreak07 over on deviantart. She did an awesome job and, more than that, it was a pleasure working with her.**

 **Until next time.**

 **Cheers!**


	11. Ch11 - If it's stupid but it works

**Change starts with You**

by Winerp

And again a very big thank you to Euphonemes, whose help was invaluable more than once when I stalled out in this chapter. Seriously, go check him and his fic **Run** out.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 - If it's stupid but it works...**

 _This is madness_ … Nick's brain couldn't help but follow up that assessment with the image of a shouting wolf kicking a camel down a well, which would have been a funny movie reference were it not for what Nick was actually about to attempt.

After getting everything Gordon had given them sorted out the previous day, Nick and Judy had committed to beginning their investigation immediately. The rabbit had made use of their newly assigned patrol route to make a list of potential venues she'd have to check out, and Nick had decided on a way to make himself noticed. That choice had brought him to Tundra Town, where he now sat, alone, in his cruiser trying to pep himself up for what was going to be his first actual hustle in about three years. He was shivering slightly, but Nick wasn't sure if that was due to the cold, or because he was, in all honesty, quite scared. Judy's company would have most certainly helped in that regard, but not only did she need to stay in the dark for mammals to buy his apparent corruption, she would probably be screaming at him if she knew what he was about to do.

 _We could have done this the easy way, but_ nooo, _M_ _ister Wilde had to go for the fancy-shmancy way into MR's sights_. Looking over to the house on his right, he reconsidered his options: he could start acting like a self-indulging prick around the station and on the job, and hope that would make him attractive as a recruit; he could bury himself in debt to Patrick and get pulled in "unwillingly" (and he still planned to do something like that). Those would most likely work, in the long run anyway. But with how little information they had, it was still very much a shot in the dark. Offering his services to a notorious mob boss on the other hand… now _that_ would certainly make some waves.

Taking one last look at the Big mansion a few hundred feet ahead of his cruiser, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't worried he'd get in trouble just for showing up — heck, he wasn't even that concerned about Mr. Big suspecting something. What had him rattled, however, was the stunt he was going to pull to prove himself all over again. It would all depend on whether or not the mobster had changed his habits and security since he'd last been there, though he would probably be able to talk his way out without too much trouble should his plan fall apart.

 _Well, here goes nothing_. Opening the central console, Nick retrieved the backup taser present in every cruiser and removed its battery and concealed the weapon within his uniform shirt, using the utility belt to keep it from moving about. _They pat down civies, not police officers… And why would a cop even carry an extra taser? That's silly_. While meant as non-leathal, ZPD tasers had to be able to take down any mammal, so they all had the ability to change their power output. Setting it for a higher level and using it on a smaller mammal, however, could be deadly.

Grabbing and putting on his cap, Nick got out of the car, wincing slightly as his paws made contact with the snow which covered the sidewalks and, straightening out his uniform, he made his way towards the Big's residence.

As he approached the guarded entryway, the polar bear manning the comically small booth noticed him and got out to _greet_ him, raising a paw as big as Nick's whole head. The large predator then spoke, albeit in a heavy siberian accent, skipping the occasional pronoun and heavily enunciating each word with a broad intonation.

"State business, please."

"Good evening, Ivan! I have an appointment with Mr Big for nine o'clock?" Nick made sure to put on his friendliest smile for the guard. He'd gotten to know most of the bears working for the Big family while he did so himself, and had been on friendly terms with the majority. That being said, he knew many had begun despising him after the rug incident, and he was sure not all of them would be so _welcoming_ of his renewed status with their boss. He was in luck with Ivan though.

"Ah, Nikolas. Is good to see you again." The bear's expression visibly softened, the predator almost looking joyful at the fox's visit. "I was very sad to see you go all those years ago. You told good jokes."

Returning the almost-smile of the bear with a grin, Nick began walking through the chain Ivan had just unlatched, giving him entry to the Big Estate. "Why thank you, Ivan." Then, taking a moment to ponder his course of action, he added. "Say, Ivan, is there anything I should look out for?"

"Eh, house is same, bears are mostly same as well. Kevin will meet you in door-step. He'll take you to boss." He answered, once again closing the entryway.

Nodding in agreement, Nick made his way up the driveway, soon arriving at the manor's front door. He went to knock, but just as his knuckles were about to make contact with the solid wooden door, it jerked opened. He would have stumbled forward, but ended up almost falling backwards at the imposing sight of another polar bear blocking the threshold.

Just as Ivan had told him, there stood Kevin, for once without any bandages from the scuffles he frequently got into. Unfortunately, it seemed this bear wasn't quite as pleased with the fox's return as Ivan was, given that the pleasantries Nick shot at the larger predator seemed to bounce off.

"Keeevin, long time no see." Despite his hopeful smile, the only thing Nick managed to get out of the polar bear was an impatient huff which blew his hot – and rancid – breath over Nick's muzzle. Mustering all of his self-control not to gag or show any signs of bother, he tried to get things going.

"So, may I come in?"

Still mute, Kevin simply pivoted on his left paw, allowing Nick entrance into the house proper, all the while keeping a steely gaze on the guest.

"I'll take that as a yes," Nick gingerly said, walking past the towering predator with as much confidence as he could muster.

Once inside the foyer, the fox slowed his pace – albeit not stopping completely – to take in his surroundings. While he may have visited the mansion during the Nighthowler investigation, the threat of icing kept him from truly admiring the place. And he had to agree with Ivan: very little had in fact changed.

His inspection of the interior decorations were, however, interrupted by Kevin's heavy paw on his shoulder. Nick turned around to face him and met the bear's other paw stretched out in front of him.

"Weapons."

 _Okay, here we go…_ Unholstering the taser in his utility belt, Nick gently placed it on the large predator's paw, followed by his pepper spray and baton. In the meantime, it appeared as though Kevin was checking the fox's belt, making sure he didn't 'forget' to relinquish anything.

"Radio."

Looking down, Nick realized he had in fact brought his hand-held radio along… even though he hadn't quite planned on it. _Guess I'm getting into some_ _p_ _olice habits_ _…_. That was certainly a curious thought.

"Yep, sorry 'bout that."

Once the walkie-talkie had joined the rest of Nick's standard issue gear on the polar bear's paw, the larger mammal gently closed it and brought it down, all without freeing the fox from his glare. Just as Nick was about to inquire as to what happened next, the bear simply nodded for him to head down the main corridor.

Seeing that Kevin wasn't going to budge until he took the lead, Nick turned on his heels and started heading deeper into the mansion, once again focusing on his surroundings.

Due to a mix of the district's culture and its environmental needs, the interior of most houses in Tundratown was exceedingly comfy, welcoming after a day in the harsh cold outside. The wooden construction both looked and felt warm, and very few people used white or blue fluorescent lights, opting instead for more homey yellows and golds. In the Big Mansion's case, those hues were cast by high-hung chandeliers in the halls and main rooms, while lighting in the corridors was assured by rows of wall-mounted sconces.

As far as decoration went, it varied quite a bit between different areas of the house. For instance, the small office where Judy had first met Mr. Big and where they'd almost been iced was rather spartan – though, then again, that particular venue was intended to instill fear in its occupants – with barely more than the heavy mahogany desk, a few chairs and some select pictures, including of course Mr. Big's grandmother's shrine. By contrast, the office Nick remembered best, where the kingpin conducted business with those who pleased him, was far more welcoming, and certainly more 'full'… though Nick couldn't really say what it would be like now. He could however take in the massive corridors – well, not so massive given the amount of bears who worked there – which were quite varied in their own right: the stretch in which the fox found himself formed a sort of spine along the ground floor of the manor, connecting its various sections, and therefore had a more general decoration to it, with a few still nature paintings and the occasional plant.

Some twenty feet into the corridor, Kevin's paw unceremoniously nudged the fox into a hallway to their right, where the paintings changed into depictions of social occasions: a full bar, a couple enjoying a quiet evening, a dance floor. Nick clearly remembered there were several leisurely sections in the mansion, meant for both family and guests alike, and it was fair to assume this would be one such area.

Eventually, a second right turn brought Nick and Kevin face to face with an otherwise unassuming door, were it not for the polar bear standing guard next to it. _Ivan did mention there were some new_ _faces_ , the fox thought as the two towering guards exchanged a few hushed words.

Before he could ask if they were talking about him, however, Ivan moved to stand on the side of the door opposite from the new bear and captured Nick's gaze with a heavy stare.

"Boss is inside. Keep distance and no sudden moves, or Koslov squish you like meat for pierogi."

While the threat wasn't particularly welcoming, Nick was expecting some form of attempted intimidation, so it was easy to let his trademark grin slip into place as he made for the door.

"Pierogi sounds lovely right about now, but I'd rather not be a part of it."

Although, jokes aside, one particular detail of Kevin's threat did carry some weight: Koslov. The mention of the hulking enforcer – who also acted as Mr. Big's de facto second in command – meant he was probably with the shrew… _Guess I'll have to_ really _convince them I mean no harm_.

Entering the room, Nick quickly took a look around, making sure there would be no further surprises that might complicate his plan. He had been led to what appeared to be a living room, given the lit hearth on the far wall surrounded by a couple of long couches and the home entertainment system occupying the rightmost section of the room. Around said system sat a number of delightful looking sofas. To the left, however, Nick found his mark: on top of a round dining table was Mr. Big, playing carambole – a cousin of pool – with another shrew on a comically small playing table, while Koslov silently spectated, no doubt rooting for his employer.

As he started heading for the small group of mammals, he did notice a couple of glints on opposite corners of the room's ceiling: surveillance cameras. _Guess Mr. Big moves with the times after all_ _…_ Their entire exchange was probably being monitored elsewhere in the house, meaning backup could quickly be dispatched. Fortunately, Nick wasn't planning on a daring escape.

As the tod approached the table, Koslov was the first to notice him, keeping a blank expression but adopting a much less relaxed posture, more akin of the one he bore when Nick and Judy had almost been iced.

This change in demeanor didn't go unnoticed by Mr. Big, who glanced up from the game for a moment, just enough to see the fox approaching, soon returning his attention to the glimmering polymer spheres. Despite the size difference, however, Nick was pretty certain he saw a smile playing about the shrew's lips as he made his play. It might have been because of the successful ricochet he pulled off, though the russet officer was considering a more personal reason.

"Welcome, Nicholas. You caught us during our after-dinner entertainment." Then, turning to face the second shrew who was busy setting up a shot, introduced him. "I believe you've already met my son-in-law?"

The mention made the small predator turn his head towards Nick and give a small nod, which the fox reciprocated. He had, in fact, met Francis Big during his and Fru Fru's wedding, though that was about it. He had inevitably crossed paths with the lightly colored shrew when Judy and Fru Fru met, but Nick had never tried or even considered getting close to him: the less strings between him and the mob boss, the better.

"Yes, sir, I have. How is your daughter, by the way?"

During this initial exchange, Nick had stopped opposite to Koslov, with the large dining table and smaller playing table on it between him and the bear. He held a professional but, above all, respectful stance, with his shoulders held high and his paws clasped behind his back. He didn't expect a negative reception, but there was no reason to risk it over poor manners, after all. Mr. Big, on the other hand – and Francis too, for that matter – continued on playing as if he wasn't there. _Sticking to the unflappable mob boss routine to a tee, it seems._

"Mmh, she is well, thankfully. Spends most of her time looking after my two grandchildren, as any good mother should." Letting out a small grunt as the white ball missed the red by a hair, he continued. "She still finds time for herself and her friends, however. In fact, she was the one who procured for you this visitation, was she not?"

After a solemn nod, Nick explained. "That is correct sir, I asked Judy for her number to try and formally arrange a meeting with you specifically, sir." Koslov did raise an eyebrow at the detail, which compelled Nick to expand on his argument. "Plus, I feared my past blunders might… _hinder_ , my chances of speaking with you, sir."

The shrew hummed thoughtfully for a moment, though he might have been assessing the game his son-in-law had given him with the latter's last play.

"And how is my dear Judy?"

The sudden shift in topic did catch Nick off-guard, and, in his already anxious state, he couldn't help but to react with confusion, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Sir?"

This time the kingpin did lift his gaze from the game and leveled it at Nick through bushy eyebrows, though his expression was neither sour nor sweet.

"How is my granddaughter's godmother? It has been some weeks since I have had the pleasure of her company."

Fighting to regain his composure and, at the same time, find a way to describe their work without compromising anything relevant, Nick gave himself a subtle shake before continuing.

"She's doing great, sir. Our current case has provided her with a chance to see the Nocturnal District."

"Hmmm… little good comes of those caves, even with the beaver chief heading the ZPD down there. I trust this hasn't put either of you in harm's way?"

"No, sir: it's nothing to be concerned over, though, as per ZPD procedure, I cannot divulge details of an ongoing case." Having the notorious mob boss show genuine concern over Judy's safety — let alone his own — never ceased to amaze him, though, perhaps even weirder, he was actually beginning to expect it. And while Nick surprised himself with how level-headed he was managing to be, Mr. Big's hummed laugh suddenly brought him back to the moment.

"Hm, hm, hm… I see the police have finally managed to burrow into that, red head, of yours. Very well, I'm sure if it's relevant I'll… _hear_ , about it. One way or another."

While the elder shrew returned his attention to the game, Nick took the chance to give the younger mammal leaning on his cue. He seemed to have the same build as Big – though with smaller mammals like them, it was always harder to notice differences in height and weight, given their relative size – but his coat was much lighter in color, and he lacked the bushy eyebrows that made Mr. Big instantly recognizable. What he _did_ recognize instantly was the scowl Francis was directing at him. Nick wasn't sure if it was his uniform or just his species – honestly, he wasn't really bothered either way – but it did convey a very open distrust of the fox. In the meantime, Big had finished his turn and was once again looking at the tod.

"So, you went through quite a bit of trouble to get this, personal, interview, Nicholas. Does the ZPD have any specific issues they needed to communicate, directly?"

 _Well, here goes nothing._

"No, sir: the reason for this meeting is of a personal nature. And while the ZPD may be involved sooner or later, they're not relevant to this at the moment."

Mr. Big had started to look back at the game, but Nick's description had him turning back to him with a raised eyebrow. Clearly, he wanted the fox to expand on his statement, which Nick promptly did. Though this time, he let slip the overly-serious expression he'd worn thus far, replacing it with a resigned, but nonetheless carefree one.

"Allow me to be blunt, Mr. Big. I've been on the Force for the past two years – three, if we count the Academy – and while I've certainly learned and gained a lot from it, I've also come to a rather stark realization, sir."

"And what would that be?" The shrew had fully surrendered his attention to the fox by this point, completely ignoring the game and his frowning relative.

"That a life lived strictly by the rules simply isn't the life for me."

Mr. Big lowered his gaze, becoming pensive for a moment.

"I am, sorry, to hear that, Nicky." Once he returned his gaze towards the fox, Nick could swear he saw some glimmer of sorrow in those black beady eyes. "Mmh, what exactly are your intentions with this visit?"

At this point, Nick had fully slipped into his old hustler persona, shrugging in feigned disinterest, as if the situation was truly unavoidable.

"Apart from the rug incident, I quite liked working for you, sir. So I'd like to once again offer my services to you, Mr. Big."

Taking a moment to gauge the reactions of the mammals in front of him, Nick noted how, on one hand Koslov and Francis were both shocked – though the shrew much more visibly so, not so surprisingly – while on the other Mr. Big simply frowned, looking away from the tod.

"Hmmm… Nicholas, the only reason you weren't iced after that, mistake, is because it was just that: a mistake. I was more, disappointed, than anything, to be honest. But I am conflicted about this offer of yours."

"How so, sir?"

"Mmh, there are two sides to this point, Nicky: one is the matter of family, the other is the matter of business."

Looking away from Nick, Mr. Big started slowly pacing in front of the miniature pool table.

"For the most part, I try to keep them separated, and you know this." Nick nodded. "The business, exists to support the family. But the family is not directly tied to it.

"But, should family wish to help the business, I must consider it, because I am still a businessman. And that, is the case you're presenting here, Nicholas."

Just as he was about to confirm, the shrew raised his hand, silencing the fox and indicating he wasn't finished.

"That being said, this particular proposal brings forth two potential problems."

"What would those be, sir?"

"I was disappointed, Nicky, when you brought me that skunk-butt rug, but I was also relieved, deep down."

"Relieved, sir?" While Nick had expected some form of resistance from the shrew, he couldn't have guessed exactly where it might stem from, which meant he was more than likely going to learn a bit more about Big's views on him than he'd intended.

"I know I'm one of the few people you've ever told your story, my child – your _true_ story – and I honestly did not think you were meant to stay with us. So when I had an excuse to _make_ you leave without too many repercussions, I was glad." The small mammal chuckled. "Mmh, in fact, I was so hostile towards you when you came back with dear Judy because I thought you were still living the same life, and I had wanted to push you away from what I saw as a dead end for you, Nicky."

Nick smiled at the thought, not because it was the believable thing to do, but because he was genuinely happy: even back then, those who truly knew him still hoped for him. And that only steeled his resolve to carry on.

"So I take issue with bringing you back into the fold on family grounds." His expression hardened again and he locked eyes with the fox. "But, in the end you came here for business, so that side of things takes precedence.

"Now, I can see the values of having a trusted mammal in the ZPD." The description caused a reaction in Nick's peripheral vision: a quick glimpse revealed Francis' dumbfounded and somewhat perplexed expression. Apparently that was an odd statement coming from a mob boss… "But, as you yourself said, Nicky, you've been in the Force for three years now, and while I'm sure their, _teachings,_ have proved valuable, they are most certainly not what interests me."

 _Here we go_ … Nick knew what the shrew was referring to; in fact, it was the whole point of the hustle he was trying to pull. Nick hadn't lost his touch. And while the fox frowned slightly, as if he was trying to discern Big's reference, the latter turned on his heels and once again looked over the game.

"How do I know that your talents haven't, dulled, in your time on the other side of the law?"

"Well my diet hasn't become ninety percent donuts, sir."

A single chuckle escaped Big's maw as he made his play.

"I understand your point, Mr. Big. And I suppose the best answer to the question you raise would be a practical demonstration. Perhaps I could prove I can still be of use."

The shrew didn't turn, but his voice rose in pitch. Apparently he was amused with Nick's proposition.

"Mmh? And how exactly would you go about doing that, my child?"

At this point, Nick started casually pacing, taking a few steps away from the table and looking up at the ceiling.

"Most things around here don't seem to have changed much, Mr. Big. I recognized most of the bears in the house and some routines are still the same: checkpoint at the gate, checkpoint at the door, a pat-down in the hall."

Turning around, the fox started once again heading for the table, noticing how the shrew was still looking at the game in front of him, while Francis and Koslov were intently following Nick with their gaze.

"Some things have moved on with the times, though." Nick then both pointed and looked at one of the room's surveillance cameras, all the while still heading for the table. And, just as he expected, both the polar bear and the younger shrew immediately followed his gaze. And that's exactly what Nick was waiting for.

With both possible threats distracted and already standing directly behind Mr. Big, Nick quickly removed his second taser from within his shirt and moved it to the smaller mammal's side. The devices electrodes weren't directly on him, but the threat appeared clear nonetheless. And then Nick spoke.

"Of course, being able to see what's happening doesn't mean you can necessarily prevent it…"

Things happened very fast after that: the door burst open and the two polar bears standing guard came charging in, positioning themselves directly behind Nick, Koslov pulled out an _actual_ gun and leveled it at the fox with a snarl and even Big's son-in-law held his cue aggressively. However, and in stark contrast with the rest of the room's occupants, Mr. Big remained surprisingly calm, merely turning his head to the side and eyeing the threatening taser with curiosity. And then he did something even more unexpected: he smiled.

"Mmh, a taser won't do much without its battery."

The comment made Nick chuckle, though he didn't budge – with a gun pointed at him, the last thing he wanted was to make it look like he was about to do something.

"True enough, but you only really need a battery if you actually plan on using the thing."

Nodding, Mr. Big turned to Koslov.

"Koslov, you can put it way, my friend. Nicky didn't come here to hurt me tonight."

While the two polar bears behind the fox exchanged looks, Koslov's gaze bounced between his boss and Nick while a frown formed on his muzzle, and while his gun paw slacked slightly, the weapon remained trained on the officer.

Francis, on the other hand, shared none of the massive bear's indecision, remaining in as threatening a position as he could be, with his toothpick like cue pointed at Nick.

"You can't trust him! He's already messed up before, he's a cop and he's not a part of our deal with them. We can never be sure of his intentions! How –"

The shrew's rant came to a sudden stop when Big leveled a hardened glare at him. No matter how old he got, it seemed the mobster's judgement and decisions were not to be questioned. Although the young mammal's outburst did provide Nick with a very interesting piece of information: Mr. Big did indeed have an arrangement with a group of corrupt cops. It would seem Bogo was right in his reasoning.

Then Koslov chimed in.

"Fine, but then slide taser to me. Slowly…"

Nick knew he had been pushing it as it was, so he quickly complied. Though he kept his smug smile, he carefully moved the weapon away from the old shrew, set it down on the table and pushed it towards the bear. Grabbing it, the latter reholstered his firearm and inspected the taser, confirming that it was in fact missing its battery.

"Kevin, Michael, thank you for your diligence, but you may wait outside."

While the two guards complied with Mr. Big's command, they did so slowly, taking the time to eye the fox who'd apparently just threatened their boss before excusing themselves with small bows.

The shrew then turned to his son-in-law, observing his warrior-like pose with a bemused expression.

"And while I thank you for this show of courage, my son, we're not primitives, so please put the cue down." Though before the younger mammal could oblige, Big's expression hardened and his tone of voice deepened as he added a warning. "And be careful when you speak."

While the now embarrassed shrew slumped and set his makeshift weapon down on the paying table, Mr. Big once again turned to face Nick, who up until then had just been enjoying the results of his stunt.

"Now tell me, Nicholas, how exactly all of this," The shrew gestured around him and then at the taser in Koslov's paw, "proves your worth."

Looking down, the fox grew thoughtful as he began to list the night's accomplishments, tallying them up by counting his fingers.

"Well, sir, first I managed to arrange a meeting with a crime boss who at one time threatened to have me iced, then I smuggled a weapon into said meeting, and finally I threatened said boss."

His counting complete, he once again looked at the shrew.

"And I am still alive and, well, not bathed in sweat or tears. So I'd say I can still pull a hustle."

"Mmh, perhaps… but you canids don't sweat like most of us, now do you?"

Clamping his mouth shut, Nick nodded solemnly.

"Yes, sir, that is true. You've got me there."

The shrew then began slowly shaking his head, while a low chuckle escaped his maw.

"I have to say, Nicky, I did miss these… _ideas_ , of yours." Still looking amused, but now with his gaze locked with Nick's, he added, "But do something like this again, and getting shot will be the least of your concerns."

Nick finally cut short his smile. Big might have accepted his demonstration, but Nick was more than aware of how real his threat was. So he bowed his head in understanding and waited for the shrew's conclusion.

Mr. Big had walked back to the game table and was inspecting one of the polymer spheres. Eventually, he put it down and sighed, turning back to face the fox.

"Okay, Nicholas, I will consider your offer as the businessman that I am, but know that I do not agree with it as a family man. Mmh… and Judy would most certainly not approve of your decision."

 _She wouldn't have approved of me coming here either if I'd told her…_ Nick thought with mirth. Though he kept his face hard as he looked away from the shrew.

"I am well aware of that, sir, and I'll keep her out of this as much as possible."

Mr. Big nodded. "Thank you."

At that point, Francis was returning to stand closer to his father-in-law, so Nick took the opportunity to conclude his business with the elder shrew. He'd gotten what he wanted, and some extra information to boot. All in all, it'd been a pretty successful hustle.

"Well, Mr. Big, sir, I must thank you for your hospitality and for hearing – and considering – my proposition. And if there are no other matters you'd wish to discuss with me, then I'll take my leave."

Nodding once again, the shrew dismissed Nick, who, with a bow, turned on his heels and headed for the exit of the room.

#

Once the living room's door had closed behind the fox police officer, Francis wasted no time in voicing his misgivings over Mr. Big's decision.

"Father, you're not seriously considering involving the fox again."

The older shrew was still displeased with his son-in-law's untimely and compromising outburst, and he would make that very clear for him, but first he also wanted to hear his reasoning – as erroneous as it was shaping up to be.

Before anything else, however, he intended for his conversation to be private, so he addressed Koslov.

"Leave us, and please have the boys turn off the video for the time being."

With a curt nod, the polar bear left, and, soon after, the red flashing LEDs on the cameras went dark. Mr. Big could now have his discussion in private.

"And why not, Francis? What about Nicholas makes you so distrustful of him?" Then, just as the younger mammal was about to speak, he added, "And be very careful with the claims you make, child."

That did give the younger mammal pause, though he quickly regained his composure.

"First of all, I've never heard or seen you give second chances, father. And after the consequences of his mistakes, what makes him so deserving of one?"

"Mmh, you've never seen me give second chances because whether I do or do not is a matter between me and the mammal in question. I don't take pleasure in humiliating mammals for making mistakes, especially with how many I've committed myself…

"And as for Nicholas, you've been involved in the family's business for two years now. In that time how many negotiators have we gone through?"

Francis seemed confused by the question, looking at nothing in particular as he tried to remember.

"Um, three, I think? I could be wrong though, since they always seem to run into trouble with any deals and meetings even remotely out of their comfort zone."

Mr. Big nodded at his son in law's description. In fact, that was exactly the point he wanted to make.

"Four, actually. But you're right in your assessment of the problem."

"But how does this concern the fox?"

The derogative tone in which Nick's species was used didn't sit well with the kingpin, who frowned and practically spat out his explanation.

" _The fox_ was our main negotiator for close to ten years, son. There was no mammal or group he couldn't reach an agreement with."

With wide eyes, the younger shrew couldn't help but repeat in whispers after Big.

"… _ten_ years?! How…"

"So I truly hope that's not the only reason for your distrust of him."

Still a bit dumbfounded, Francis tried to collect his thoughts and present his second point. He did stutter for a moment, still reeling from his father in law's revelation.

"Uh… the, um… the other reason, is the fact he's not a part of MR. And if he's not under their umbrella, what assurances do we have he'll do as he's told?"

The mob boss actually chuckled at the question. After all, from where he stood, Nick not being a part of the group was actually a good thing.

"That would imply MR is the only thing keeping any dirty cop from crossing us, and do you truly believe that, my child? You know full well what happens to those who cross our family."

Francis had no reply to that, so he just shut his muzzle and nodded his understanding.

"In fact, it might actually be good for Nichols to be free from them. After all, that way our family becomes the only concern of his. That way, there's no one he could betray us for."

"I understand, father. And I apologize for my outburst."

Mr. Big hummed in acceptance, though he quickly recalled the other issue he'd had with said outburst.

"Good, but there's another thing you need to be careful with, child."

The younger shrew clearly wasn't expecting any more issues, given his confused look and slightly tilted head.

"What's that?"

His father in law then got very close to him, their noses almost touching, and lowered his voice down to a rough croak, speaking through gritted teeth.

"Nicholas had enough tact not to mention it, but I am sure he noticed the 'deal' you mentioned. You were careless, Francis, and this rashness now means we have to waste time making sure no consequences come of it."

#

Having received a _very_ vigorous paw shake from Ivan at the front gate, Nick was now heading back to his cruiser, silently mulling over both what he'd accomplished and what he'd discovered with his little performance.

He'd successfully established his interest in the criminal world, so now it'd be a matter of waiting for an opportunity to present itself, all the while doing everything in his power to cement his position.

One thing he did realize, however, was that more than anything else he just wanted to let Judy know. He wanted to share how he'd been scared, excited and then thrilled with the success. He wanted to let her know he was okay and then listen to her inevitable rant about his carelessness.

And that both amused him and terrified him.

 _What has that rabbit done to me._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Not much to say this time around.**

 **It is my first time trying to depict such a tense situation, so please let me know if you liked it or if there were any issues with it.**

 **Also, I tried my best to capture Big's speech and mannerisms, but in the end y'all will be the judges of that.**

 **Regardless I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time, with some reunions and plenty of delicious food.**

 **Cheers!**


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